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LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
PRINCETON. N. J. 


PRESENTED BY 


The Publishers 






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DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


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Devotional Leadership 


Private Preparation for Public 
Worship 


| By 
GERRIT VERKUYL, Ph. D., D.D. 


Field Representative, Presbyterian Board of 
Christian Education 


dibkor of “Scripture Memory Work (Graded), sf 
and “Children’s Devotions.” 





New York CHICAGO 


Fleming H. Revell Company 


LONDON AND EDINBURGH 


Copyright, 1925, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY; 


Printed in the United States of America 


New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. 
London: 21 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street 


TO MY WIFE 


Whose Devotion finds expression in Devotedness 





Foreword 


HE, secret of success in devotional leadership is 
adequate preparation. A very commonplace 
Christian, who can boast neither education nor 
brilliancy, but who is willing to spend a quiet hour or two 
in planning for each program of worship he is to conduct, 
is more likely to bring a blessing to his group of fellow- 
worshipers than the recognized genius who has not per- 
mitted necessary preparations to interfere with his other 
duties or pleasures. Not infrequently dependence on the 
spur of the moment is mistaken for dependence upon God. 
Instead, let us make this our maxim, that he who would 
lead others into the sacred Presence, must first make that 
Presence his own dwelling-place. No human devices, 
however ingeniously concocted, and no inborn talents, 
however diligently displayed, can take the place of the 
leader’s preparation of his own spirit, and his planning of 
the program with his group in mind. 

It is the purpose, therefore, of this manual to consider 
ways in which those who lead devotions, whether in the 
Sunday School, the Young People’s Society, the Mission- 
ary Meeting, or any other Service of Worship, may most 
thoroughly prepare for their sacred task and may most 
helpfully carry out their program. The nature, the aims, 
and the requirements of such leadership will form the 
centers of our studies, with an examination of the ele- 
ments and factors that make for inspiring devotions. 

The contents of these chapters are as practical as we 
can make them. Personal experience in leading devotions, 
sympathetic observation of such leading by others, re- 


Z 


8 FOREWORD 


actions from thoughtful students in classes in which we 
taught the subject, and study of the few books definitely 
dealing with it, all these have contributed to the enrich- 
ment of these presentations. We invite individuals to 
whom the task of devotional leadership is either regularly 
or occasionally committed, to make use of these studies. 
But inasmuch as our church members from youth up are 
being drafted ever more numerously into this form of 
Christian service, we earnestly covet the study of this 
handbook by whole classes, both in local churches, in Con- 
ferences, and in Schools of Methods. 

To facilitate the teaching of these chapters we have 
added to them outlines, subjects for discussion, sugges- 
tions for research, and reading materials. The use of 
these is, of course, at the option of the teacher. We would 
impress upon single students that these supplements will 
greatly aid them to gauge their own grasp of the subject 
and to stimulate their minds for the mapping out of their 
own plans. 

To the many leaders of devotions who unconsciously 
have had a part in the building up of this manual we 
owe and render unmeasured thanks, hoping also that 
they in turn may find fresh inspiration in the perusal of 
these pages. 

| seve 
Oak Park, Ill. 


Contents 


. THE Nature oF DEVOTIONS . 

. REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 

. PrivATE DEVOTIONS . 

. Joint DEVOTIONS 

. Alps To JoInt DEVOTIONS 

. BurypInc A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM 
. WorsHIP IN SONG 

. DEVOTIONAL GIVING . 

. CULTURE IN PRAYER . 


. Brsuicat, DEVOTIONS . 


APPENDIX 


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I 


THE NATURE OF DEVOTIONS 


one. From whatever angle one may approach it 
there appears one gripping interpretation from 
which there is no escape. “ Devotedness ” is most akin to 
it as a synonym: it gives the simplest and clearest expres- 
sion to its meaning, and at the same time it intimates its 
most deeply spiritual motive. If, at the outset, a definition 
is wanted, we may say: Devotions are the outgoings of 
the heart in devotedness to God with a sense of God’s 
devotedness to us. 

This going out of the heart may be audible or silent; in 
thought or in action; in praise or in prayer; individually 
or in fellowship with others. But in whatever way the 
heart goes out in devotedness to God there are always 
three elements present, namely,—1. Loving thoughts, with 
a desire for the nearness of the One for whom devotion 
is felt. 2. Appreciative words, either spoken to the One 
who is loved, or about Him. 3. Agreeable action, both to 
please Him personally and to secure the attitude of others 
that will please Him. 


£ ip letter and spirit of the word “ devotions” are 


I. Devotions Are Personal. 

There is always something personal in one’s devotions, 
whether they be religious or otherwise. The wage-earner, 
first starting out to work, is likely to think much of his 
wages. He has hired himself out for a certain price and 


11 


12 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


his labor is rendered in exchange of that price. But if he 
is a promising workman he will soon forget about the 
money he is earning, and will grow interested in his work. 
Nor does he stop there. The finest and best that is in him 
will never be called out until he becomes interested in the 
person with whom, as an employee, he has most dealings. 
That person he will learn to love or hate. If he grows to 
hate him then there will never come from his hands the 
choicest products of which he is capable. But if he finds 
reason to grow devoted to him, then he will apply himself 
supremely. “He will advance from the attitude akin to 
slavery to that of the friend, and for his friend he will do 
what he never could have done for his paymaster. The 
personal element of the situation appeals to him. 

Devotion of a young man to a young woman is, of 
course, personal. The lad passed through a stage when 
he cared nothing about his appearance. His devotion, 
even to his parents, was at low ebb. His grades in school 
did not worry him; he felt no strong attachment to home 
or church; he slouched, went about unwashed and un- 
kempt, a disgrace to his mother and sisters. ‘Then, most 
unexpectedly, he began to brush up. He cleaned his 
finger-nails, brushed his hair, wore a decent collar, in- 
vested in a new necktie, shined his shoes; and all because a 
seemingly attractive face appeared above his horizon. A — 
young lady had challenged his devotedness. 

Apparently, the devotion of the patriot affords an ex- 
ception. ‘The patriot is not devoted, it would seem, to any 
one person; or perhaps to no number of persons; he is 
devoted to his nation, or rather to the great principles for 
which his nation stands. His love of country impels him. 
Yet, the impersonal element is only apparent. He may 
sing heartily of “rocks and rills” and learn to love the 
‘sight of them, but he is not supremely interested in them. 


THE NATURE OF DEVOTIONS 13 


If the people for whom he is willing to live or to die were 
to be removed from their country in a body, he would go 
with them, leaving the hills and the valleys behind. Be- 
cause he believes in the same principles in which his people 
believe. And these principles to which the loyal patriot 
adheres are not hanging somewhere in the air, nor are they 
embodied in material things; they are expressed in flesh 
and blood. Some person embodies them. ‘The patriot 
instinctively seeks out that person in whom the principles 
which he admires are most clearly manifest. When he 
finds that man or woman he is ready to pledge allegiance. 
This necessity of centralizing principles in a person came 
out emphatically in our boys during the World War. 
When the young men first went to the colors there was 
no particular man on whom they could centralize. 
Roosevelt could not go to France; Wilson was in Wash- 
ington; there was no great leader with whom they could 
identify themselves. Then came Pershing. Our boys 
did not know Pershing. Except for a few news-items 
regarding his exploits in Mexico, he was a stranger to 
our people. But like bees looking for a queen-bee so 
our boys swarmed around Pershing. He became their 
hero. In Pershing they saw the embodiment of their 
own patriotism. The devotedness of their hearts, which 
must needs go out to a person rather than to a principle, 
went out to Pershing. 

The scientist offers, seemingly, another exception. The 
student, who scrutinously analyzes chemicals, seems ut- 
terly impersonal in his efforts. The entrance of the per- 
sonal element might induce bias. The less he allows the 
personal factor to control his investigations, we are in- 
clined to say, the better for science. He should be devoted 
to science for science’ sake. But we are mistaken. The 
greatest chemists have been those who allowed the per- 


14 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


sonal element to enter in and constrain them. They went 
into the laboratory, not for the sake of science as such, 
but for the sake of science as a handmaid of humanity. 
Their devotedness to science was a means to a greater end. 
Harvey, who discovered the laws of circulation of the 
blood; Koch, who found the ubiquitous bacilli; Pasteur, 
who learned to master them; Livingstone, who opened 
continents ; Burroughs, who showed us nature; James, the 
student of the mind, these all were lovers of men. ‘The 
devoted scientist puts the personal element in the center. 

The personal element in religious devotion is too well 
known even to require presentation. The four great reli- 
gions of today are named after the persons in whom their 
devotees center their hopes. The Buddhists bow to Gau- 
tama; the Chinese look to Confucius; the Moslem world 
pronounces the name of Mohammed; Christianity is cen- 
tered in Christ. ‘These central persons are the life and 
motive of the religions that are named for them. ‘The 
same continues true where shoots spring off from the 
main stem; some person stands in the center of the move- 
ment to keep it alive. Joseph Smith, the prophet of the 
Mormons; Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, the high-priestess of 
Christian Science; Pastor Russell, the apostle of Millen- 
nial Dawnism; Dowie, the founder of the Zion Church, 
are but so many illustrations of the principle that devoted- 
ness is to a person. 


II, Devotions Are Reciprocal. 

It is equally true that devotedness is from a person; or, 
to say the same thing, devotedness seeks for personal 
reciprocity. It goes out to a person from whom it expects 
devotedness in return. The youth, who grows devoted to 
a young lady, seeks response on her part. Whether with- 
out such response he continues his attentions, depends 


THE NATURE OF DEVOTIONS 15 


somewhat on his innate tenacity of purpose. But sooner 
or later he relinquishes, if there is no hope of response. It 
is the secret hope that response may be created in the 
heart of the maiden, that puts his flickering longings into 
flame. In similar way the employee, who finds his em- 
ployer appreciative, grows stronger in his loyalty. Should 
appreciation lack utterly, the smoking embers of his loy- 
alty are sure to die. 

(1) Our devotedness to God expects devotedness from 
God. And we must go still a step further. Our devoted- 
ness to God has its origin in God’s devotedness to us. 
“We love him, because he first loved us.” If in the uni- 
verse there were nothing but some impersonal “ power 
working for righteousness” we could not be devoted 
Christians. ‘We need a Person. Or, should there be a 
Person who did not care for us, we could not be devoted 
to him. Weneeda loving Person. Devotion does not run 
in a single track; it needs a double track. It needs a cir- 
cuit. The circuit has its beginning in the loving heart of 
God. Out of that heart it touches us and from our hearts, 
if we respond, the outflowings are in devotedness to God 
who loves us. 


“For every, ‘O, my Father!’ 
There is a ‘ Here, my child!’ ” 


The electric light by which we read at night is supplied 
by means of a double current. No single current could 
convey light or heat or power. ‘The fact that in our hearts 
there is any spark of devotion to God is an incipient sign 
that there is a God who receives our devotions. The fact 
that our devotion to God grows stronger as the days go 
by, is added proof that God is nourishing the weak flicker, 
is blowing it with His breath. God is devoted to us. 


16 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


(2) It is the genius of Christianity, therefore, that the 
spirit of devotion be conveyed from one person to another 
person. From the earliest times it was so. Naomi’s devo- 
tion to Jehovah touched the heart of Ruth. She was 
devoted to Naomi first, and through Naomi she grew fond 
of God. It was the same between Paul and Timothy. 
The young man’s heart went out in loyalty to Paul, and 
Paul taught him Jesus. Naomi and Paul became “the 
way ” for their disciples, the connecting rods by which the 
currents from God to the human heart and from the 
human heart to God could meet. Jesus calls Himself 
“The Way.” His unconditional devotion to the Father 
drew the hearts of the disciples to Himself and on to God. 
It is this feature that makes it safe for Christian workers 
to win others to themselves on behalf of Christ. Loyalty 
to a Christian can readily be transferred into loyalty 
to Christ. 


III. Devotions Imply Kinship. 


(1) The elements which in any person make devotion 
to another person possible are those of similar nature to 
each other within the two persons. ‘The apple, loosened 
from its stem, falls to the earth because it contains ele- 
ments that are also contained in the earth. The earth is 
as truly attracted to the apple; but the small apple pos- 
sesses less drawing power than does the big earth. Our 
devotion to God is due to our kinship with Him. The 
infinite devotion of our heavenly Father to us is possible 
only because He made us in His likeness. All devotion, 
from the free communion with God of our first parents 
who had not yet sinned, to the fellowship of believers with 
Christ today, is based on this wonderful kinship. 

(2) Belief in such kinship forms the basis of devotion 
on the part of idolaters, fetich worshipers, and animists. 


THE NATURE OF DEVOTIONS 17 


The man who bows to sticks and stones believes that 
powers similar to his own reside in those visible forms. » 
He has a notion bordering on conviction and as strong, 
that the thing he sees can think and will and feel like 
himself, is in all respects endowed like a human being. 
He worships that which he regards as his kin. He 
believes that, in some form, response is coming or will 
come from the thing he worships. The measure of his 
devotion is determined by the fulness of response he 
seems to secure. ‘The day may come when he will throw 
away his object of worship because there was obvious 
lack of reciprocity. 

(3) The worshiper who kneels before an answering 
God grows stronger in his devotion. From intermittent 
periods of worship he advances into a life of devotion in 
which his whole being tends to love and serve God. He 
becomes a friend of God, eating and drinking to the glory 
of God. This growth in devotion is accompanied by a 
growth in likeness. The Christian who is true to Christ 
grows in likeness to Christ. He discovers ever more 
keenly what factors in his make-up are not in keeping 
with loyalty of spirit, and also how he may please his 
Savior most. ‘The adverse tendencies he subdues, or 
guides into currents that flow Christward. What the New 
Testament calls “the old man” diminishes in controlling 
power. The new man in Christ Jesus becomes master ; 
spirit glories over flesh. “ We shall be like him.” 


IV. Devotion Needs Emphases. 

There is a law of emphases or accentuations running 
through all the affairs of men; it seems also to touch all 
elements and factors in the universe. Nothing moves 
continuously on a level; heights and depths; strong cur- 
rents and weaker currents; intense feeling and compara- 


18 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


tive indifference, these are our experiences on every hand. 
In agreement with this law it has pleased God to suggest 
emphases also in our devotional experience and expres- 
sion. Enjoining us to “ pray without ceasing,” He never- 
theless set apart particular times and seasons for us in 
which we shall exercise our devotions supremely. They 
are not to be the only moments or seasons of devotion; 
but rather they are to serve just as the mountains serve the 
hills in lifting them up with them. The person who 
counts every day alike and all parts of the day alike, in 
his devotions, is likely to lower his entire devotional life. 
We stand in need of emphases. | 

(1) God asked His people to appear before Him thrice 
a year, if possible, and each time for a whole week. 
Every faithful Hebrew went up to the sanctuary at least 
once a year, to hear the singing of the psalms and to join 
in praises to Jehovah; to listen to the great teachers of 
Israel ; to meet with friends and relatives for untrammeled 
fellowship, and to enjoy physical recreation. What God 
offered His people in the Old Dispensation He would not 
hold back from them in the New. Every Christian still 
stands in need of at least one annual week at some lakeside 
or other retreat for spiritual, social and physical recre- 
ation. The women who do their own house-work week- 
day and Sunday should have the Hebrew allotment of 
three weeks. 

(2) God gave His people one day in seven for similar 
recreation. He wanted to keep them away from complete 
absorption in the making of a living and the greed of gain. 
He knew that the mind needs rest from worries and dis- 
appointments such as daily labors always involve. He 
wished them to enjoy the conscious presence of Himself 
on the Sabbath day, that His people might enter the week’s 
work invigorated in body and in spirit, on a level nearer 


THE NATURE OF DEVOTIONS 19 


that of Himself. He gave us the Sabbath for devotional 
emphasis. 

_ (3) It is obvious that from the beginning God planned 
for every child of His some moments of each day defi- 
“ nitely with Him. In its own wonderful way the first 
Book of the Bible tells of our first parents walking with 
God in the cool of evening. We know that Abraham and 
Isaac observed their daily devotions; that Daniel prayed 
thrice a day; that Jesus sought the intimate touch with 
God after, or before, a day of strenuous service. Paul, 
too, relates of his daily habit of prayer, remembering all 
the churches. To this day we need the secret, sacred 
moments, day by day, whereby we shall be able to spend 
the whole day with all its complications happily in the 
presence of God. 

(4) May we not think that inasmuch as God has laid 
this law of emphases in His universe and asks us to obey 
it, that He also works in agreement with this law? God 
Himself, we have every reason to believe, draws nearer to 
us with His Spirit at these appointed seasons than on the 
common day. He is already awaiting us at our trysting 
place when we are ready to meet with Him. Hence the 
uncommon blessings of which they testify who truly seek 
Him daily, and weekly, and in fellowship with others of 
His children at annual occasions. 

The nature and the elements of devotion, too, are true 
of God, and in Him are raised to infinity. God is devoted 
to persons far more than to things. One soul means more 
to Him than all the material riches of the universe, and 
He does more to save one man than to save a solar system. 
Toward us He has loving thoughts; to us He speaks ap- 
preciative words; for us are His agreeable activities. In 
a supremely magnified and perfect way God’s devotedness 
to us corresponds to our devotions. 


20 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


WHEN Is THE TIME FOR PRAYER? 


“ When is the time for prayer? 
With the first beams that light the eastern sky, 
As for the toils of day thou dost prepare, 
Lift up thine heart on high; 
Commit thy loved ones to His tender care. 
Morn is the time for prayer. 


“ And in the noonday hour 
When, worn by toils and by hard labors pressed, 
Thou unto Him thy spirit’s burdens pour,— 
And He will give thee rest,— 
Thy soul may find thy Helper anywhere. © 
Noon is the time for prayer. 


* And when the sun has set, 
While yet its colors deck the western skies, 
When loved ones home again thou’st met, 
Then let thy prayers arise 
With those who in thy joys and sorrows share. 
Eve is the time for prayer. 


“Then, when the stars shine bright ; 
When to the waiting heart great thoughts are given 
And the deep stillness. of the night 
Gives birth to purposes for earth and heaven, 
Kneel before God; ask strength to do and dare. 
Night is the time for prayer.” 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER I 


Introduction: 
Devotion as Devotedness. 


I. Personal Nature of Devotions: 


Illustrated by Wage earner; Lovers; Patriots; 
Scientists; Worshipers. 


II. Reciprocity in Devotions: 


God devoted to us; 
Devotion conveyed through persons. 


THE NATURE OF DEVOTIONS 21 


III. Kinship Implied: 


Attraction of similar elements; 
Kinship supposed in idolatry ; 
From kinship to friendship, 


IV. Emphases Needful: 


Annually; weekly; daily; 
Divine observance. 


Conclusion: 
God’s devotedness infinite. 


SUBJECTS FoR DISCUSSION 


. Why take these studies? 

. Synonyms for “ Devotions.” 

. Are devotions really personal? 

Mention cases of impersonal devotedness and look for source. 
What suggestion of God in devotions? 

The personal in transmission of devotion. 

Does devotion show kinship? 

. Emphases in devotions,—why? 

. The devotedness of God. 


ODONIDV on to 


SUGGESTIONS FoR RESEARCH 


Let members of a class tell of their own experiences in leading 
devotions,—how they “got by” without preparation; got caught 
unexpectedly; enjoyed leading when prepared; their destructive 
and constructive criticism of the leading of others. 


For READING 


Prayer, Its Nature and Scope, H. C. Trumbull. 

To Be Near Unto God, Abraham Kuyper. 

The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence. 
The Meaning of Prayer, Harry Emerson Fosdick. 

Psalm 139. 


I 
REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 


\ N [ E observed in the previous chapter that for the 


exercise of religious devotion there must be one 
who is worshiped and one who worships,—a di- 
vine and a human being. Without the true God there can- 
not be true devotion; neither can there be true devotion as 
a subject of study except for a human spirit akin to God. 
There are in nature suggestions of worship on the part 
of God’s creatures. ‘The song of the skylark rises to 
heaven in praise of the God who made him. Scripture 
speaks of trees that clap their hands together before their 
Creator. Again, it testifies that “deep calleth unto deep 
at the noise of thy water-spouts.” All of which is true as 
long as there are children of God to observe these testi- 
monies of nature. In themselves they are rendering praise 
unconsciously. They are not aware of any obligations 
toward God; they have no hearts overflowing with grati- 
tude. They are not devoted to God nor have they desire 
to worship Him, None but those whom God has made 
in His likeness are capable of engaging in devotions. 
Though worship is a human trait, not every human 
being renders God his devotions. The reasons for this 
serious lack are many. But they may be set out by con- 
trast in a number of requisites without which no worship 
can be rendered. 


I. The First Requistte is a Knowledge of God. 
I cannot love anyone whom I do not know, and I am 
22 


REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 23 


able to love only in the measure in which I do know. 
Those who are ignorant of God, whether they live in 
Africa or in America, are thereby debarred from devo- 
tions to God. The high-priestly prayer of Jesus teaches 
us (John 17: 3): “ And this is life eternal that they might 
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou 
hast sent.” 

(1) The lowest degree in the progress of this knowl- 
edge is the mere belief that there is a God; yet this first 
step is necessary. “ He that cometh to God must believe 
that he is” (Heb. 11:6). Such a belief, simple as it is, 
yet carries with it some inkling of divine qualities. Belief 
in God involves ascription of superiority ; of power. But 
it may not involve even the semblance of love, or of trust, 
or of expectancy of any favor. It may, instead, induce 
great fear. “Thou believest that there is one God,” 
says James (2:19), “thou doest well. The devils also 
believe and tremble.” It is the actual experience of 
millions, who believe in a god as some personal power 
mightier than themselves, to be in perpetual dread of 
him. ‘To be lovingly devoted to such a god is out of the 
question. 

(2) Considerable advance has been made when devo- 
tees acquire some knowledge of the works of God as 
related to Him. Usually these works are revealed most 
plainly in nature. When seed-time and harvest, summer 
and winter are ascribed to Him; when the rising and set- 
ting sun, the waxing and waning moon, rains, droughts, 
hails, lightning, sickness, health, birth and death are traced 
to one Almighty God, then there is great likelihood that a 
human soul will be stirred to worship. 

He, who has eyes to see and ears to hear, will discern 
both power and wisdom, perhaps righteousness, too, in the 
works of nature. But the worshiper of God needs a 


24 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


knowledge of Him that goes further than these! A God 
of infinite power and wisdom might show Himself but 
a more monstrous Napoleon than was the Corsican; 
he might be another Zeus indulging his passions in 
casting thunderbolts. If righteousness were added to 
His might and cunning, He might rule the world by 
law alone, controlling the machinery like an infinite 
engineer, with us His creatures but so many cogs in the 
humming wheels. 

(3) But God has other attributes, one of which alone 
balances all the rest—God is love. He cares. Like as a 
shepherd cares for his sheep; like as a father cares for his 
children, so God cares for us. He cares for all His crea- 
tures, the little sparrow not excepted. For us He cares 
with a love that is infinite. But we must know of His love 
or we cannot from the heart return it. To worship Him 
in spirit and in truth we need to grow ever more intimately 
acquainted with Him. This greatest attribute of God is 
not predominantly revealed by nature. “ Red in tooth and 
claw,” there is apparent in nature only a slight trace of 
love. Because nature is not God’s:greatest work it does 
not lend itself to God’s greatest manifestation of Himself. 
In His relation to man, “the paragon of animals,” “the 
noblest work of God,” the highest and deepest of God’s 
nature is most truly known. We must know man to 
know God. 

(4) This means that we must know ourselves and 
others in our true relation to God. But this relationship 
is most clearly and fully revealed in the Bible. Through 
the ages God has been seeking man and has been finding 
him. God and men have communed and men have told 
of it. ‘Their testimony of their fellowship with God, His 
care for them, His patience with them, His willingness to 
forgive, His presence to afford ever new strength, His in- 


REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 25 


finite grief when they sinned, and His yearning for their 
return to Him—all these experiences have been recorded 
in epitome within the pages of that greatest of all books 
we call the Bible. It is the Word of God, not on account 
of any dictating on the part of God; but rather because of 
the experiences of man with God,—the conversations, the 
instructions and the leadings in which God is always the 
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. We 
must, therefore, know the Bible to know God. We must 
know the Bible shall we enjoy helpful devotions. 


IT. We Should Learn the Will of God. 


The child that is uncertain of his father’s wishes cannot 
fully dedicate his talents to the carrying out of those 
wishes. ‘The workman who has not been instructed in the 
ways of his master is at a loss to know how he shall serve 
him. The young man who finds himself unable to dis- 
cover the wants of his lady-love is quite baffled when he 
would please her. The Christian who would live a conse- 
crated life needs to know what God wants him to do. 

(1) The entire Bible serves to teach us the will of God; 
but for the clearer understanding of it, there has been 
given us a brief presentation of it in the Decalogue. The 
principles inherent in the Ten Commandments are as 
binding today as they were in the days of Moses. Inter- 
preted by Jesus they cover every action and motive in our 
lives, reaching down into the heart. 

(2) Jesus also modernized for us the sum of the 
Ten Commandments in the positive law He gave us, 
that we should love God above all, and our neighbor as 
ourselves. 

(3) The supreme expression of God’s will is the life 
and death of Jesus Christ. He was truly “The Word 
made flesh,” “ God manifest in the flesh,” “‘ God with us.” 


26 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


In Him law and love, righteousness and grace, retribution 
and forgiveness are combined. We can know the will of 
God to the measure and only to the measure in which we 
know Jesus. Accordingly, the measure of our devoted- 
ness to God is narrowed or broadened according to our 
acquaintance with Jesus. God may have 


“ other Words for other worlds, 
But for this world, the Word of God is Christ.” 


ITI. It Is Not Enough to Know the Will of God; We 
Must Also Know the Plan of God. 


These two are, of course, in full agreement; but they 
are not identical. So far as man is concerned, the will of 
God determines what He wants us to do personally in the 
way of worshiping Him, serving Him and treating our 
fellow-men. ‘The plan of God determines what He, Him- 
self, wants to do with, and through us. The one concerns 
our daily program of living; the other concerns His 
eternal program for the world, ourselves included. “ For 
I doubt not, through the ages one eternal purpose runs.” 
E.xpressed most briefly, that program is—‘ Reconciling 
the world unto himself” (II Cor. 5:19). This program 
began as soon as wayward man stood in need of salvation. 
A great step toward its accomplishment was taken with 
the call of Abraham. Its culmination was reached in the 
life and death of Jesus, “to heal the brokenhearted; to 
preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to 
the blind; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” 
The further carrying out of the program was suggested 
by our Lord when He said, “ Ye shall be witnesses unto 
me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judzea, and in Samaria, 
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Jesus inaugu- 
rated this program, and during the three years of His 


REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 27 


ministry He left out not a single part of it, in His appeal 
to men, His living with men, His attracting and cleansing 
men, His living and dying for men. To know this experi- 
mentally is to love Christ. 

(1) This knowledge must not be purely theoretical ; it 
must grip the heart. We must be fully in sympathy with 
the gracious plan of God. It would not have been our 
plan. The law of God comes much nearer to our human 
understanding than the grace of God, both for ourselves 
and for others. Most of us would rather earn our salva- 
tion than to have it given to us,—at least we fancy so. 
How little we know ourselves in the matter is evidenced 
from the countless lives that have received the gift of 
grace, but are not even willing to express their devoted- 
ness in loving service. The plan of God, for the recon- 
ciling of the world to Himself, must become our plan. 

It must become our own plan intellectually. We must 
think things through,—the revealed purpose of God, the 
ways and means He uses to bring about His purpose, and 
the part we may take in fulfilling that purpose. It must 
become our plan emotionally. Our feelings need to be 
touched by the love of God, else His plan will not appeal 
tous. “ For the love of Christ constraineth us,” says Paul 
(II Cor. 5:14). Our wills must be identified with the 
will of God for the carrying out of His program; else, 
how shall we cooperate with Him? 


“Our wills are ours, we know not why; 
Our wills are ours to make them thine.” 


(2) All of which means that the true worshiper knows 
God as his Friend. “He walked with God,” the Bible 
puts it. This must still be true. As Enoch and Noah and 
Abraham walked with God; as Moses talked with Him 


28 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


face to face; as the disciples walked with Jesus—so are 
we to walk with God each day, intimate friends with Him. 
Devotedness means friendship. 


IV. The Motive of Christian Devotion is Gratitude. 


Without a deep-felt acknowledgment of our indebted- 
ness to God, our devotional life is doomed to shallowness 
and our devotions will reflect that feeling. The wor- 
shiper needs to be aware of his own unworthiness ; of the 
wonderful grace of God toward him, and of his own pos- 
sibilities by virtue of Divine grace. 

(1) Our unworthiness is not simply a matter of weak- 
ness or shortcoming, but also of sin against God. The 
first tidings which Jesus brought from heaven were, 
“Repent ye.” No matter now how it has come about, the 
fact is, that a knowledge of ourselves in the presence of 
God reveals sin within us. Isaiah felt it; Peter felt it; 
Bunyan felt it; every devoted follower of Christ has felt 
it. We have literally “done what we ought not to have 
done and have left undone what we ought to have done 
and there is no health in us.” ‘These words from the 
Anglican Liturgy were first uttered in prayer by John 
Calvin. They express the contrition of a penitent heart 
of whatever land or creed. Among the greatest hind- 
rances to modern devotions is this lack of repentance. 
There is unwillingness to confess oneself a sinner even 
privately ; much less publicly. Hence, also, the note of 
joy that comes from the experience of salvation is lacking ; 
the echo of the joy in God’s heart over one sinner that 
repenteth. How shall we be grateful for salvation when 
we can get along without it? Jesus came not to bring the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance. “ Woe is me for I 
am a man of unclean lips!” “ Depart from me for I ama 
sinful man! ”—these prayers of humility will come to the 


REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 29 


lips of every human being who has learned to know him- 
self by the light of the life and death of Christ. 

(2) With the knowledge of salvation comes the recog- 
nition of God’s unsearchable grace, “ But for the grace 
of God in Christ what would I be!” is the exclamation of 
the Christian worshiper. That a pure God should reach 
down to us and lift us up and make us His friends, His 
children, His heirs, goes beyond our human understand- 
ing. Philosophy has no place for this in any of its sys- 
tems. Psychology does not reveal it. It does not seem 
natural to us humans; for we avoid contagion. But Jesus 
touches the leper to heal him. God stoops to raise us up. 
He saves to the uttermost. His greatest miracles are we. 

Appreciation of God’s saving grace is an essential of 
our devotions. Without this our worship is empty. It 
may be beautiful, artistic and ingenious; but the kernel is 
out of it; devotedness is lacking. Count Zinzendorf, a 
young man of moral habits, was kneeling by his bedside 
at a hotel one evening when he happened to see a picture 
of Jesus on the Cross with the words underneath, “I did 
this for thee; what doest thou for Me?” The motto 
gripped him and changed him from an ordinary, com- 
placent member of the church to a leader of men burning 
with the passion of devotion. Paul put the idea in some- 
what similar form when he pleaded, “I beseech you, 
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present 
your bodies a living sacrifice.” 

(3) We must know our worth through the help of 
Christ. Jesus never leaves people on their level if they 
will take His hand. Virtue goes out from Him. We are 
the branches; He is the vine. “As the Father sent me 
into the world; so also send I you into the world,’ He 
assured His disciples. One day He exclaimed, “I am the 
light of the world,’ and it sounded rather strong for a 


30 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


soul in flesh and blood to utter; but before He was 
through He added, “ Ye are the light of the world.” Paul 
had realized this transmission of power when he testified, 
“Through the grace of Christ I am what I am,” and 
again, “I can do all things through Christ, which 
strengtheneth me.” ‘To go through the forms of devotions 
in some religious service; then to go out leaving the prof- 
fered power of God unclaimed, is little less than mockery. 
We honor the giver by the use of the gift. It is God’s 
plan that we be “ kings and priests in the earth.” Because 
we follow the mind of God, therefore the offices of gov- 
ernment, the teaching of children and youth, the planning 
of local, state, national and world-programs should be in 
our hands. 

In agreement with the program of Jesus we are to exert 
influence, first, in our immediate environment. ‘The mind 
of the Master must be revealed in our conversation. But 
it may not stop there. Our devotedness will lead us to the 
municipal council chamber, to have power with men there. 
Our citizenship is in heaven; it is also on earth; hence we 
must unite the heavenly with the earthly in our citizen- 
ship. Not alone, but with Christ dwelling in us, are we 
God’s power in the world. We are His body. The King- 
dom of God on earth is the goal toward which we strive 
and which, we know, shall some day be reached. Thus 
shall our whole being be a song of devotional praise to 
our Savior. 

(4) Our gratitude to God can find expression to a large 
degree in our relationships among men. ‘To love our 
neighbor as ourselves is called like to the first command 
of love toward God. The devoted Christian is devoted to 
God supremely; he is also devoted to God’s children. 
“First be reconciled to thy brother and then come and 
offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:24). For how shall we extend 


REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 31 


the Gospel of divine reconciliation, if first we do not 
reconcile ourselves with others! ‘“ We know that we have 
passed from death unto life, because we love the breth- 
ren,” witnesses the beloved disciple—(I John 3:14). 
Appreciation of other Christians is a prerequisite of devo- 
tions without which the sweet, spiritual tone of our wor- 
ship loses its richness, and prayer becomes vain. 


V. Reverence. 


The “open sesame” to the throne-room is reverence. 
The first petition in The Lord’s Prayer is “ Hallowed be 
thy name.” Unless we did hallow His name, the granting 
of our petitions would bring no blessing. ‘The deaths of 
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, who carried unhal- 
lowed fire before the Lord, and of Uzzah, who put his 
hand to the Ark, are symbolic of the results of irrever- 
ence. Jesus had infinite patience; but when He found 
irreverence in God’s house He drove out the offenders 
with a whip of cords. 

The leading factors in reverence are, 

(1) A sense of dependence on God. The scavenger 
dog depends on none and reveres none. He snarls and 
bites and is altogether independent of any one’s goodwill. 
But that same dog, cared for by his master, learns to rev- 
erence that master as his friend. There are many human 
scavengers, who feel no dependence upon the Lord of all 
the earth. They have no motive of thanks ; they acknowl- 
edge no Giver of every good and perfect gift; they cannot 
revere God, and they cannot worship Him. 

(2) A sense of wonder at the majesty of God. Nature 
and grace together make their mighty appeal to the wor- 
shiper. The power, the beauty and the righteous laws of 
nature are so imposing; they point to a Creator who is 


32 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


infinitely greater than we, to whom we bow in worship. 
When divine grace and love and forgiveness are added to 
these attributes we are lost in the depths and the heights 
and the lengths and the breadths of His riches. 

(3) A sense of God’s holiness. There is within us 
something we cannot forever deny, however greatly it may 
be marred by sin. We are made in the likeness of God. 
Because of this remnant of our likeness to God we stand 
in awe of His holiness and it attracts us. The best that is 
in us wants to meet with this divine attribute. Unholy as 
we are, we worship Him for His holiness. 

(4) Love for God as our personal ideal. At our best, 
we want to be like Him. At times we despair of our 
growth toward God as our ideal, but God’s children never 
give up hope. If not on this side of eternity, then on 
yonder side we hope to bear a strong resemblance to 
Him. And we believe that in the sacred moment of 
worship he imparts to us a measure of that likeness for 
which we long. 

(5) A suitable attitude of the body. Soul and body 
interact on each other very intimately and constantly. The 
Pharisee stood up straight; the publican bowed himself. 
Their feelings toward God were different; hence their 
differing positions. It helps the soul in worship to assume 
a reverent position. 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER IT 


Introduction: 


Worshiper and worshiped; 
Worship in nature. 


I. Need of Knowing God: 
That He exists; 
What He does; 
What He is; 
Our relation to Him. 


REQUISITES OF DEVOTIONS 33 


II. Need of Knowing God’s Will: 
Answered in the Bible; 
Summarized in Decalogue; 
Shown in Christ’s life and death. 


III. Need of Knowing God’s Plan: 
Mastered by it; 
Making it our own; 
Friendly planning with God. 


IV. Gratitude the Motive of Worship: 
A sense of sin; 
Belief in divine grace; 
Hope in Christ; 
Expressed in daily living. 


V. Reverence the Basis of Worship: 
A sense of dependence on God; 
Wondering at God’s majesty; 
In awe before His holiness; 

In love with God, our ideal; 
A reverent bodily attitude. 


SUBJECTS FoR DISCUSSION 


. What worship of God is there in nature? 

. How may we know God? 

. What good can a knowledge of God do us? 

What plan has God made known to us? 

What should God’s program mean to us? 

Show difference between a working child and a servant. 
What do we own and what do we owe? 

. Consider the motive of childlike worship. 

. Show the relation of sin and grace to worship. 

. Man in his own strength and man in Christ’s strength. 
. Reverence and its factors. 


mt SOON DAUR WH 


pend rom 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


What people are most reverent? What is the difference between 
reverence and superstition? When do you feel most reverent? 
What is your motive in prayer? Is God’s plan known well enough 
to be carried out? Efforts to pray that were unsuccessful. When 
prayer was easy. 


For R&ADING 


The Still Hour, Austin Phelps. 

The Night Watches, J. R. McDuff. 

With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray. 
Training the Devotional Life, Ch. 1, Weigle-T weedy. 
Keeping in Touch with God, Robert P. Anderson. 


III 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 


7 H-: who would master the sacred art of leading 


others in devotions must regularly, frequently 

and earnestly observe his own private devotions. 
There is small hope of our guiding others on a road which 
we have not personally traveled. If the blind lead the 
blind both are in danger of falling into the ditch. Only 
by way of our own inner chamber can we gain entrance 
to the temple where the many would worship God, led by 
our hand. Nothing enables us to gain that confidence in 
the Divine Presence and that sense of divine response that 
is essential in leading souls in the close companionship of 
God, but our own devotional life and practice. Private 
devotions form the basis of all joint devotions. It is 
requisite, therefore, that we first study the art of private 
devotions. 

The factors that enter most dominantly into our private 
devotions may be presented under five general heads— 
Concentration, Contemplation, Conversation, Communica- 
tion, and Consecration. These will suggest our study for 
this chapter. 


I, Concentration. 

As the word indicates, concentration means the center- 
ing of attention; the making of one thing, or idea, or per- 
son the heart of our thinking, the center of our interest. 

Such centering on a particular always involves the ex- 


34 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 35 


clusion of numerous things. It is impossible to make 

many matters the objects of our thoughts and at the same 

time to think strongly and steadfastly on one single matter. 
~We must choose between extensive and intensive thinking> 
Including a center always means excluding a circumfer- 
ence. The use of the telephone offers a clear and common 
illustration. The person who has quite recently arrived 
in a busy city, where street cars shriek and traffic roars, 
puts the receiver to his ear but fails to catch the message. 
He asks that the words may be repeated, wishes that the 
people about him might be quiet, shuts a door or window; 
but, at best, a conversation over the wires is a bugbear to 
him. He almost despairs of success in the city because of 
so serious a shortcoming on his part. But next day he 
tries again and the day after until, within a fortnight, he 
is able to hear distinctly. What has happened? He has 
learned to concentrate. At first every sensation drew his 
attention ; he tendered a reception, however ungraciously, 
to every sound that came along. He wanted to exclude 
troublesome guests but did not know how. They found 
entrance. Continuous practice brought him to the place 
where every sound not carried to his ears through the 
receiver remained unattended. He mastered the art of 
centering on the sounds that came over the wires. 

The worshiper may pass through similar experiences. 
Unless he is extremely careful, he may set apart a period 
for worship, with a laudable enough purpose; but only to 
find that he is spending the time in wool-gathering. Every 
conceivable idea is likely to enter his mind; but not one 
idea that draws him nearer to God. The worshiper must 
learn to concentrate on God. Some things hinder; 
others help. 

(1) If there is in our life, back of all our religious 
exterior, underlying the general trend of our dealings with 


36 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


men, and permeating our secret hopes, anything that fos- 
ters an, evil purpose, whether it be the gratification of 
pride, or the gain of selfish power, or the enjoyment of 
sensual pleasures, in short, anything that is not pure and 
lovely and of good report, we cannot concentrate our 
minds on the Holy One. “ Your sins have hid his face 
from you,” says Isaiah (59:2). Our divine Teacher pre- 
sents the positive phase of the same truth when He says, 
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” 
ie (2) If any interest of life seems to us of more concern 
pen God’s friendship, we cannot concentrate on God. 
Paul strove ever toward the mark of his high calling in 
Christ Jesus; hence his saying, “This one thing I do.” 
Jesus pointed out the supreme interest of every normal 
life when He announced, “ Seek ye first the kingdom of 
God.” He boldly demanded that we forsake all,—houses, 
lands, father, mother, every pleasing prospect, to love God 
above all and to follow Him. 

(3) The only sure way of overcoming defects in con- 
centration is the identification of our interests with those 
of God. We naturally care greatly for what belongs to us. 
We did so as little children; we do so now. We shall 
retain this trait so long as our minds are alert. It is 
natural for us to concentrate on things that we call our 
own. We have interest in them. When the truth dawns 
on us that what is ours is our Father’s and what is our 
Father’s is ours, then our interests, too, merge with God’s 
interests. ‘To encourage this vital feeling Jesus taught us 
Divine Fatherhood and human brotherhood. He spoke of 
His own oneness with the Father and portrayed the possi- 
bility of our oneness with Him and with the Father. Paul 
tells us we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ 
Jesus ;.co-workers together with Him. His concern, then, 
is OUr Concern as Our concern is His concern. 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 37 


(4) Because God is concerned with everything in the 
universe, there is nothing good that needs to be avoided in 
our moments of concentration, so long as we consider it in 
its relation to God. Every problem that faces us, every 
question that arises, every purpose of the heart, every 
piece of intelligence that demands consideration, is in place 
where we bow the knee to the Father, if only we view it 
with God in the center of vision. To concentrate in our 
devotions means to gather the rays of the sun in the re- 
flector ; to let God’s light shine on our interests; to let all 
other interests be subordinate and to let the pleasure of 
God rule supreme. 


II. Contemplation Naturally Follows Concentration. 


Near the most imposing temples of Rome in days of 
heathen worship there was a space left open from which 
admirers could gaze on the building with its many domes 
and towers in one broad sweep. They obtained from that 
particular standpoint a complete view of the temple; they 
con-templ-ated. ‘The sacred singer suggests similar prac- 
tices among the Hebrews, “ Walk about Zion: tell the 
towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her 


palaces, that ye may tell it to the generations following ” 
(Ps. 48:12, 13). 


Contemplation, then, is seeing things from many angles ~” 


at once and seeing them whole. Contemplation in reli- 
gious devotions is taking a square, straight look at life, 
ourselves included, as part of a whole world in which God 
our Father rules, Whose law is love. We gather up the 
things we have seen and heard, the things we have tasted 
and felt, the things we hope and for which we strive, all 
that we are and want to be; all that we want others to be 
and do, and we look at them, so far as in us lies, through 
eyes the light of which is God. 


38 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


(1) The material for contemplation most ready to hand 
is the visible world. To the men and women whose devo- 
tional utterances we find in the Bible, nature was a won- 
derful book. They saw God’s name written there. They 
heard the heavens talk about God. They looked on the 
morning sky and knew that God was “ covering himself 
with light as with a garment.” The trees clapped their 
hands. The clouds were God’s chariots. The beams of 
His chambers were laid in the waters. Everywhere about 
them they saw the finger of God. And from the visible 
world they turned to the law of God. Those people were 
not pretenders; they were sincere. They actually con- 
templated the works of God in nature and felt that God 
is immanent; that in Him “ we live and miove and have 
our being.” 

For us who have heard Jesus predicated as the Word 
by whom all things were made (John 1:3); who have 
read Paul’s ascription of the making of the world, to 
Christ (Col. 1:16) ; and who are familiar with the open- 
ing words of Hebrews (1:2), “by whom also he made 
the worlds,” the glories of creation should make an even 
deeper impression. We know Who is meant when the 
psalmist sings, “ When I consider the heavens, the work 
of thy fingers.” We are aware Whose glory the heavens 
- declare by day and by night. Our Redeemer and Lord is 
the Author of the visible world. Him, for whom Plato 
of the Greeks was searching as the Demiourge, the “ di- 
vine Workman ”—Him we worship as the Son of God. 
We can look upon the beauty of nature and think of our 
supreme Friend. And the more marvels we detect about 
us the greater is our admiration at the wonderful work- 
ings of Christ. “The earth is full of his glory.” 

(2) There is great stimulus to devotion also in contem- 
plating the works of God in history. Every American 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 39 


should master the history of his own country with God in 
view. Unfortunately, our public schools are almost forced 
to teach the story of our nation with God left out. But we 
know well enough that our fathers did not leave God out, 
and we know further that God cannot honestly be left out 
of any history. To see the leading hand of Providence 
from the day when America was discovered through the 
centuries that followed, when neither Spaniard nor 
Frenchman, but children of the Reformation were given 
this goodly land; to trace the processes from crude begin- 
nings to modern civilization, is to invite devotion of heart. 
In similar way the story of other nations may be followed, 
their beginnings, their growth, their prosperity ; their lux- 
uries and excesses leading to their decline; one nation 
never learning, seemingly, from another nation; but like 
children wanting new experiehces whether good or evil. « 

This is a study almost infinite in its ramifications, 

Then there are the great movements we may contem- | 
plate,—the rise of Christianity in spite of imperial oppo-| 
sition and deadly persecutions ; the temptations that came 
to the Church when it had grown strong; the Dark Ages 
with their ignorance and superstitions; the monasteries 
with their benevolent and their deplorable influences; the 
Renaissance and the Reformation; the Counter-Reforma-. 
tion under the leadership of the Jesuits; the aze of Deism 
and Rationalism; the revolutions in America and in 
France; the beginnings of modern Missions; the popular- 
izing of education; the separation of State and Church; 
the introduction of commercialized amusements ; revivals, 
and religious education; till, today, we are challenged to 
take a stronger grip on the training of the young in reli- 
gion. Who can think of these things without seeing the 
hand of God? 

(3) Biography, too, offers rich fields for devotional in- 


40 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


quiry. The stories of leaders in Israel stir our hearts ; for 
we sense their nearness to, and consciousness of God. 
They were so human and so childlike. We see their 
foibles and we admire their faith. Giants in their gener- 
ation, they made epochs and remain our teachers to this 
day. We like to read their biographies again and again 
and we live in hope that some day we may talk with them. 
But other men and women, also, of whom the Bible makes 
no mention, are worthy of our contemplation,—the poets 
and philosophers of Greece and Rome; Gautama of India ; 
Confucius of China; Zoroaster of Persia; those men who 
sought after God if haply they might find Him. Each 
succeeding century seems to bring to us the outstanding 
figure of some great soul, a leader among his people, a 
contributor to the world’s progress. The lives of famous 
churchmen we find interesting to study,— Clement and 
Origen of Alexandria, Chrysostom of Antioch, Augustine 
of Hippo, Patricius of Ireland, Boniface of the Nether- 
lands, the Venerable Bede, and all that great galaxy of 
men who lived to lift. We like to feel kin to them. We 
like to have them know that we are taking up their bur- 
dens and are carrying on; that they, prophets and seers 
and apostles, have not lived in vain. 

Supreme above them all for our contemplation is the - 
God-man Christ Jesus. His biography is endless, as He 
had no beginning or ending of days. ‘To contemplate Him 
thoroughly will require infinities of time, because He is 
infinite. We look at Him not simply as our goal; though 
He is that; but as Himself the way to the goal; else we 
should despair. | 


“Thou art the way! 
Hadst thou been nothing but the goal 
I cannot say 
That thou hadst ever reached my soul.” 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 41 


(4) Ultimately our contemplation must bring us face 
to face with our own relation to God. He brought us into 
the world for a purpose. He has a world program, part 
of which we are to perform. It was His plan that our 
environment should fit us for our task; that our powers 
should match our opportunities and duties. He gave us 
parents, teachers and companions to work together with 
Him in preparing us for life’s service. Some of the 
agents which He appointed for our training did not 
fully understand their calling; others did not sufficiently 
care. At times, we were unwilling to walk in the way 
He had appointed us, and wandered where we wished. 
Sometimes we just forgot. But our Father never for- 
got us. He never was unwilling to sustain us. His 
care for us never ceased; His love for us never reached 
its limits. ‘“ Forgive us our debts,’ we prayed, and He 
forgave. ‘Then we went out and sinned again, and, by 
and by, we came back once more, saying, “ Forgive us 
our debts.” So it went day after day. Had not the 
all-wise God known our frame, remembering that we 
are dust, He must have thought that we were mock- 
ing Him. 

Then there are His leadings all the way, from the day 
of our birth to this present hour. There were clouds that 
threatened, but He lifted them and we found that they had 
softened our hearts. There were days of darkness, but at 
everitide He gave light. The waters came up to our lips, 
but then they receded. And even when calamity struck us, 
He helped us to feel the gentle touch of His hand. Dis- 
appointments led us back from wanderings into His path 
and brought us out in fields of joyful service. “ How 
gentle God’s commands!” How considerate; how far- 
seeing our Father is! And how very feebly we have 
shown our gratitude! Truly, such contemplation leads to 


42 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


humility of heart, and by the way of humility it leads to 
faith and hope and love. 


III. Conversation. 


Both concentration and contemplation are introductory 
to what is commonly called prayer. But they form vital 
parts of prayer itself. What clouds are to raindrops and 
what subterranean streams are to bubbling fountains, that 
are our silent thoughts in our devotions to the praises and 
petitions to which we give utterance. “ Be still and know 
that I am God,” comes first; then follows, “ Cast your 
burdens on the Lord.” An illustration, though by no 
means perfect, may be gained from the procedure in an 
audience with the United States’ President for the sake of 
presenting a spoken petition. No person in his right mind 
would rush into the presence of our Chief Executive with- 
out knowing what he wished to say and without consider- 
ing beforehand how he might best say it. Previous to the 
actual speaking he would concentrate and contemplate. 
But immediately on entering the reception room he would 
have his petition ready, so that the President might lose 
no time. The fluent words he utters are the fruitage of 
many hours of serious thinking. 

Similarly the child of God, having thought on his needs 
and plans in relation to the heavenly Father, is thereby 
prepared to unburden his heart before God. But he is far 
more certain of a listening ear and of a sympathetic re- 
sponse than is the American citizen who petitions the 
nation’s Chief Executive. The President lacks time to 
enter intimately into the affairs of a hundred million 
citizens. God knows the falling of the sparrow and He 
cares. He knows “ our down-sitting and our uprising; he 
understands our thoughts afar off.” We can converse 
with Him. Eternities are His; He lacks not in time. 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 43 


The conversational part of our devotions contains in the 
main three features—the expressing of our thoughts to 
God ; the listening to God’s response, and the exchange of 
promises between us and God. 

(1) Expressing of our thoughts in the presence of God 
is necessary in order that there may be room for God’s 
message to us. It is difficult for us to listen to others 
before we have said what is on our minds. Apparently, 
this is a human trait; which means that God has wisely 
made us that way. The natural way, therefore, after care- 
fully contemplating, is to unburden ourselves to God; to 
let Him know what our thoughts and feelings and plans 
are. We may wish to confess sin, or to express a desire, 
or to render thanks for His goodness, or to request a 
favor, or just to tell Him that we love Him. By doing 
this we relieve our minds and prepare our hearts for the 
_ next feature in our conversation. 

(2) God was at our trysting place before we reached 
there. Our Father listened before we spoke, and an- 
swered before we called. When we were thinking His 
thoughts after Him, the Spirit of God was working in our 
hearts. Without the Holy Spirit we could neither con- 
centrate nor contemplate; we could not even utter our 
prayer as we ought (Rom. 8:26). Now that we have 
given expression to our thoughts Godward, it is best to 
listen to the divine response. This response may come to 
us in either or both of two ways. 

(a) God whispers to His children direct. He Who 
spoke at sundry times and in diverse manners to the 
fathers is not dumb today. If we, who are made in the 
likeness of God, long to express our thoughts, He Who 
made us longs for such expression with an infinitely 
greater longing. The listening heart, today, will find a 
God Who speaks. The Friends are right; there is an In- 


AA DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


ner Light, an illumination by the Spirit of God in the heart 
of His children. The fact can probably never be proved 
scientifically ; but those of us who have experienced it do 
know, and we know it more surely than we know the 
things we hear with our ears and see with our eyes. 


“Closer is he than breathing, nearer than hands 
and feet.” 


(b) God also speaks to us and answers us through His 
Word, which we call the Bible. That gracious will and 
that saving plan which He made known to His children 
long, long ago in the Scriptures, are still His will and plan. 
We need not grope in the dark. There are suggestions 
there so rich and deep that not the greatest thinkers of 
modern times are able to fathom them completely. Many 
teachings are so simple that fools need not err, and little 
children may find the way. To read the Bible prayerfully 
is to let God speak to us. It is the complement of conver- 
sation in which prayer forms the other part. 

There is a strange anomaly, however, in our religious 
devotions, due to the infinite grace of God and the un- 
graciousness of humanity. By no means is audience with 
God always sought by us; too frequently God seeks in vain 
for audience with us. “ Behold, I stand at the door and 
knock,” was not spoken regarding sinners preeminently. 
‘The message was for one of his churches. Holman Hunt 
was right when he put neither keyhole nor key on the 
outside of the door by which Jesus stands, in his famous 
painting. The door needs to be opened from within. 
Before we can speak to God or God to us, there needs to 
be an opening of the heart for the presence of God. The 
soul must be reverent and expectant before Him. “ Hal- 
lowed be thy name” is the “open sesame” given us by 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 45 


Jesus to begin our conversation with God. Without rev- 
erence our hearts would remain closed to Him. 

(3) A leading element in a helpful conversation with 
our heavenly Father is an exchange of promises. In many 
ways devotional exercises resemble courting. The Bible is 
full of love-scenes and love-talks between Jehovah and 
His people, who were by their vows spiritually husband 
and wife; while Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom with 
His Church as the Bride. Just as in courting there is 
usually an interchange of promises, simply because love 
is urging such promises, so in our devotions the inter- 
change of promises is fitting and helpful. God’s promises 
to us we have in the Book. It is ours to claim them. 
There is not one of them which God is unable or unwilling 
to fulfil. He is greater than all His promises. Some are 
startling ; we hesitate in gripping them, But they are ours, 
presuming the conditions under which God gave them 
have been fulfilled. Some of them seem unconditional. 
All we have to do is to accept them. They are not 
given lightly. Lovers, not seldom, rue the lightness with 
which they made promises. God is glad to fulfil every 
promise He makes. 

But if we only claim promises from God and make no 
promises to Him we are not carrying on a conversation. 
It is our part to return in coin, If we are truly devoted 
to God, we will, of course, make promises. We will tell 
Him of our plans relative to His plans, and subordinate to 
them. We will map out in His presence a course of life 
that shall be agreeable in His sight, because it coordinates 
with His great world-plan. We shall even consider defi- 
nite tasks and details of our program to make sure that 
nothing shall contradict or oppose the gracious plan of 
our Father. This part of private devotions is among its 
sweetest moments. It makes our life part of the life of 


46 ~ DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


God, because it renders us so fully conscious of living 
with Him and for Him. 


IV. Communicatton. 


This form of personal devotion, as the term implies, 
is not carried on in private; but it is still a personal 
affair. Another word of similar meaning is “ testimony.” 
Perhaps a still better phrase is “ witnessing.” They all 
mean the bringing of the thought of God personally to 
others because of our devotion to God. It is the office of 
the prophet, who “ speaks for ” God. 

(1) The simplest way in which this prophetic service 
may be rendered is by telling of God’s goodness. This 
may be done most effectively in ordinary conversation. 
Our sacred writers called upon others to listen that they 
might hear what God had done to their souls—how He 
had rescued them, had sustained them in trouble, had 
blessed them abundantly. Paul spoke of One “ whom he 
believed,” able and faithful. Many are the people who 
need guidance in their opinions regarding the goodness of 
God. They think Him heartless in His righteous ways. 
But an aged couple in the Duluth First Presbyterian 
Church, who lost three children during one year, came to 
see God’s goodness in their grief, They have richly 
equipped a room in the church building and have placed a 
tablet there with this inscription :“ In memory of God’s 
great goodness.” 

(2) Individual Christians can show their devotion by 
warning against sin and encouraging right doing. Occa- 
sions are not rare; they crowd in on us. Swearing in pub- 
lic places may be objected to. Foul stories should always 
be plainly resented. Boasting about dishonest dealings 
deserves rebuke. We are guilty if we allow men and 
women to go the way of death without prompt warning. 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS AT 


Encouragement is just as needful. Politicians trying to 
do right are constantly in hot water ; they need the helping 
hand and the good cheer from many Christian people. 
Employers and employees who have a mind to apply the 
Golden Rule find themselves doubting what the end may 
be. A word from us will be appreciated. A helpful deed 
is often better still. 

(3) It is the appointed task of each child of God to tell 
of the Father’s will and plan and program. We are to 
talk of them when we are lying down and when we are 
rising up; when we sit in our house or walk by the way— 
Deut. 6:7. The program is our own program. It is to 
be sought first; for it stands for the Kingdom of God. 
We can afford to live for it; we can afford to die for it; 
for, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 


V. Consecration. 


All friendship involves consecration; but friendship 
with God, supremely. Our thinking of what He is and 
does and wills, our sacred conversations with Him, our 
telling others about Him—these become empty and false 
when we let a chance go by without using it to work out 
His program in our own lives. Every form of hypocrisy 
has come about by knowing but not doing the will of God. 
Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye 
do them ” (John 13:17). The man who hears His teach- 
ings and does them is likened to one who builds his house 
on a rock; those who hear and do not are building on 
sand. “ Not every one that sayeth, ‘ Lord, Lord.’” Jesus 
reiterates this lesson because He knows the subtle danger 
besetting religious devotees—to confuse worship with 
service. Paul expresses it impressively (Rom. 12:1), “I 
beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept- 


’ 


48 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


able unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Not to 
earn heaven, but out of pure gratitude, out of a heart 
overflowing with devotedness, we consecrate our powers 
to God. ‘Then we can go back to Him for more promises, 
for more tasks and for more of His nature to contemplate. 
Our circle of devotions grows complete in service. 


VI. Devotions in the Family. 


The unit of a Christian people is not the individual, but 
the family. The family is almost as private as is the in- 
dividual. The surest basis of joint devotions is family 
devotions. 

(1) These devotions should be truly by the whole 
household, and not merely by father or mother. Children 
may take part very readily in asking the blessing at table, 
reading the portion from the Bible and joining in occa- 
sional song. Parents should not simply read the Scrip- 
tures that appeal to themselves, but rather those that 
appeal to their children. Difficult phrases need to be 
explained, and principles applied immediately to life. The 
natural leader in these devotions is the father. In case he 
feels forced to deny himself this privilege, the honor of it 
descends upon the mother. Day by day the children 
should be trained in participation of every phase of family 
worship, so that they may be ready to take their part in 
public devotions, and in future days continue the sacred 
custom of the family altar. 

(2) Bible reading and prayer do not suffice for family 
devotions; there must be family religion. Love is the 
bond of the family; where this is missing everything 
religious sounds hollow. It were better to have silent 
prayer for forgiveness than to have audible family wor- 
ship in the midst of strife. Best of all is joint confession 
of sin and weakness, both to each other and to God. Then 


PRIVATE DEVOTIONS 49 


we can bear up each other in prayer to the Throne of 
Grace. 


“There is a place of quiet rest, 
Near to the heart of God; 
A place where sin cannot molest, 
Near to the heart of God. 
O, Jesus, blest Redeemer, 
Sent from the heart of God, 
Hold us who wait before Thee 
Near to the heart of God.” 
—C. B. McAfee. 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER III 


Introduction : 
Private devotions basis of joint devotions. 


I. Concentration,—Centering on God: 
Abandon sin; 
Esteem God; 
Identify with God; 
See all in presence of God. 


II. Contemplation: 
Of things visible; 
Of history; 
Of human lives; 
Of self related to God. 


III. Conversation: 
Talking to God; 
Listening to God; 
Immediately ; 
Through the Bible; 
Exchanging promises. 


IV. Communication—Personal Witnessing: 
Telling of God’s goodness; 
Warning against evil; 
Encouraging the right; 
Proclaiming God’s program. 


V. Consecration: 
Working out God’s program. 


VI. Devotions in the Family: 
The whole family taking part; 
Religion lived in the home. 


50 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


SUBJECTS FOR Discussion 


. Basic need of private devotions. 

. Practical difficulties in consecration. 

Sin, turning from God, in theory and practice. 
Our comparative estimates. 

. Our controlling interests. 

The effect of relating everything to God. (Apply this.) 
. Kinds of contemplation; misuse of term. 

What have we to contemplate? 

. How do we prepare for worship in private? 

10. The conversational side of worship. 

11. What can we promise God? What can we claim? 
12. What have we to witness of Him? 


LO OONTOV tnd to te 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


When did we first pray privately? What was the occasion for 
it? Did we use our own words; or phrases we had learned? Did 
we expect an answer and did we get it? Is our private worship 
now more frequent with us than public worship? Does it help us 
more? Is it haphazard or part of our lives? Whom have we 
helped to pray privately? What have others witnessed of the 
meaning of private worship? What witness do biographies bring? 


For READING 


Daily Strength for Daily N Ane Mary W. Tileston. 
The Quiet Hour, Frank H. Alle 

Day by Day with the M aster, Raber Cluett. 

The Christian Year, John Keble. 

Yet Another Day, J. H. Jowett. 

How to Conduct amily Worship, H. M. Robinson. 
Religious Education in the Family, Henry F. Cope. 


IV 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 


tions suffice. To strengthen such a claim the 

teaching of Jesus is quoted in which He tells us 
when we pray to seclude ourselves so that we may pray in 
secret (Matt. 6:5, 6). But he is a superficial student of 
the ways and teachings of Jesus, who would set up one 
item of instruction uttered against the manners of the 
Pharisees to contradict the whole tenor of the Master’s 
teachings, His actual gathering with His disciples in 
prayer, and also every earlier and later teaching of the 
Bible. Joint worship has been customary from the begin- 
ning, because it is a necessity of human nature. 


4 hae claim is occasionally made that private devo- 


I. Reasons for Joint Devotions. 


(1) It appears that in the days of Enos the children of 
God began to add united worship to their private worship 
(Gen. 4:26). Abraham made religion a household affair 
(Gen. 18:19). Under the leadership of Moses the 
Hebrews were constantly trained in joint worship. David, 
bringing the Tabernacle into Jerusalem, united the scat- 
tered tribes in their devotions. Their forsaking of the 
‘Temple in the days of Rehoboam meant the dissolution of 
the nation. Ezra, after the return from captivity, united 
Israel at Jerusalem’s Temple once more. ‘The disciples 
came together after the Ascension “in the breaking of 
bread and in prayers.” Every church-group they founded 


51 


52 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


stood for group-worship. Not to forsake this gathering 
was one of the admonitions (Heb. 10:25). During the 
persecutions under the Roman emperors many Christians 
could have saved their lives had they been content to wor- 
ship in private only; but they felt the need of joint wor- 
ship and rather faced danger and death than be deprived 
of that boon. In dens and caves and catacombs they 
gathered that they might lead others and hear others in 
worship. We have reason to believe that these all wor- 
shiped privately also; but the evidences are much stronger 
for their public worship. | 

(2) Jesus worshiped with His disciples. The prayer 
He taught them is a plural prayer that has others in mind 
who are joining in worship. Every invitation to praise 
and prayer in the two Testaments is directed to the group; 
rather than to the individual. 

(3) Joint devotions are a necessity of normal human 
nature. God has made us gregarious. Solitude is good 
by way of reaction from the influence of the crowd and 
is wholesome so long as it serves to compose oneself. In 
process of time, however, a sense of loneliness sets in. 
There is no more terrible punishment in life than solitary 
confinement. Except for the recluse who has succeeded 
in gradually killing in himself the tendency to be with 
others, every man desires company for the greater portion 
of his waking hours. Inasmuch as worship is the highest 
expression of man, it calls for the highest form of associ- 
ation. The religious man greatly needs religious fellow- 
ship, not simply with God, but with his fellowmen. He 
needs to hear a voice that turns toward God, similar to 
his own voice. He needs to witness reverence that 
reflects the feelings of his own heart. He longs to 
observe trustfulness on the part of others, cognate to 
his own. His social nature cries out for satisfaction in 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 53 


a society that thinks and speaks and acts harmoniously 
with himself. 

The worshiper needs human fellowship in worship be- 
cause the needs of others are akin to his own. Things that 
have befallen him have in some form befallen others. 
Disappointments that came to him are not strange in the 
experiences of friends. Problems which he has vainly 
tried to solve are baffling his neighbors, too. Weaknesses 
that have suddenly caught him unprepared have made 
their attack upon a brother. But others have overcome in 
like manner with himself. Each and all have called upon 
God and their faces were not ashamed. ‘They passed 
through the waters and He was with them; through the 
rivers and they did not overflow them. They all needed 
God and God was sufficient for them all. This inspiration 
one would utterly miss should he forsake the worshiping 
of the group. 

(4) Worship is instructional. A number of people 
are likely to possess a greater sum of knowledge than 
is in possession of the few or of the one. A genuine 
service of worship has the qualities of a school in 
devotional leadership. We learn from each other and 
we learn by doing. If some of those present have care- 
fully thought out a religious principle; or the meaning of 
a certain incident, or a system of doctrine; or have had 
a deep-felt experience, they become for the moment the 
teachers of others present, and thereby they benefit them. 
Again, the occasion may arise when he who has listened 
to others is able to edify his fellow-worshipers in turn, 
—an exercise that always reacts wholesomely upon the 
participant. 


II, Effects of Joint Devotions. 
These are so numerous that the counting of them seems 


54: DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


little short of presumptuous ; but in the main they may be 
summarized as follows: 

(1) Equalization before God. Every worshiper is on 
a par with every other worshiper. When a king dies, no 
extra angels are sent to welcome him to heaven no matter 
how well he has lived. A beggar whose hope was in 
Christ will have as good a standing as the king. Heaven 
equalizes the unequalities of earth. But heaven tends to 
equalize also on earth. The rich man is as greatly in need 
of forgiveness and help as is the poor man. According to 
Jesus it is likely that his sins are greater. No matter in 
what position, our Lord has enjoined upon every wor- 
shiper the use of The Lord’s Prayer, with its petition for 
daily bread. Ina true sense, every believer is a brother or 
sister of every other believer. There are no ranks or dis- 
tinctions among those who kneel at the Throne of Grace. 
The lowly are lifted and the haughty are put down. There 
is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism. 

(2) Uniting of hearts in the divine presence. From 
many occupations and from various influences we come to- 
gether. We look at life from different angles and through 
variously colored glasses. But in the center of our inter- 
ests there is One who unites us to each other. However 
far apart we are, the nearer we draw to God the nearer 
we approach one another. In worship “our hopes, our 
fears, our aims are one”; we seek first the Kingdom of 
God and in that search we unite. To know that others 
seek what we are seeking and that the answer to our com- 
mon search is the One, all-sufficient God has a wonderfully 
unitary effect. 

(3) The gathering of a family. In every home the 
acme of joy is reached when all the children can be gath- 
ered around the table or at least into the same room. ‘This 
is particularly true where, of necessity, some of the chil-. 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 55 


dren are usually absent. They like to get home, and those 
always at home like to see them back. Separation is not 
altogether natural until they form their own households. 
What, then, of the children of God? They are members 
of one household, the children of one Father. The busi- 
ness of the week keeps them apart; they cannot often get 
together. Fortunately, the heavenly Father has set apart 
one day in seven in which He can meet with His children, 
and His children with each other, to rejoice in His pres- 
ence and to enjoy mutual fellowship. Each period of joint 
worship witnesses a family reunion for the strengthening 
of faith in God and for the enhancing of brotherly love. 

(4) A stimulus to outsiders. When the people of God 
meet in worship their purpose is not fulfilled within them- 
selves; they always have a mission beyond. The world- 
wide program of God is their great concern. They have 
no permission to rest, or to give God rest, until the last 
soul has been reached. But they are always to start “at 
Jerusalem,” which means right where they are. The wor- 
ship of the congregation may in itself be a spur to those 
who do not worship God. The comfort, warning, hope 
and purpose which one spiritual brother imparts to another 
is not always completely lost on those, also present, who 
have not yet found Christ. For this reason emphasis 
should be put on the bringing in to our places of worship 
many who cannot yet worship whole-heartedly with us. 
And where, by dint of custom, our efforts to draw in the 
unsaved are unavailing, there it is the Church’s task to go 
out into the open, on street corners, in parks, by lakesides, 
in the woods, on county-farms, in jails, in hospitals, every- 
where to unite in prayer and praise. 


III. The Need of Leadership. 
The problem of leadership does not enter in the study 


56 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


of private devotions ; but it immediately appears when two 
or more unite. The question then at once arises who 
should lead, how far his leadership should go, and how he 
may best conduct the joint devotions. This whole series 
of studies concerns itself with these questions. For the 
present we shall consider only the reasons for single 
leadership. 

(1) To avoid confusion. If two heads are better than 
one it must refer to the matter of preparation and not to 
the execution of it. Two kings cannot congenially sit on 
one throne; two Presidents cannot govern the same com- 
monwealth. ‘There is call for single leadership in many 
situations of life. Joint worship usually requires the lead- 
ership by one man or woman; not by many. There have 
been meetings without any head; but if composed of live 
people they have invariably ended in confusion ; sometimes 
in orgies and riotings. Many may wish to speak simul- 
taneously ; or some might desire to sing while others feel 
urged to exhort. Many minds will naturally have many 
plans, and these plans are almost certain to clash. Even 
a boxing contest requires a referee so that order may be 
retained. In the matter of worship, order is particularly 
enjoined. A unitary program demands unitary activity 
and unitary activity on the part of many is impossible 
unless these many are willing to unite under one leader. 

(2) To allow the leadership of the Spirit. The first 
concern of the leader is to be the instrument of the Holy 
Spirit in the leading of the devotions. Any leader lacking 
this purpose puts himself as an obstacle in the way of the 
worshiper and hinders the free exercise of God’s grace. 
A leader must be a ladder; not a fence. ‘Therefore, the 
leader must, himself, be led by the Spirit. His private 
devotions must be intense and wholesome. All that we 
have mentioned in previous chapters by way of prepara- 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 57 


tion applies to the leader of worship; for it is among the 
greatest tasks God has permitted any creature to perform. 
“ Yet not I, but Christ working in me,” must be the sincere 
conviction of the pastor, the Sunday School Superintend- 
ent, the Young People’s or Missionary leader, in short of 
every one who would guide others in the immediate pres- 
ence of God. Only he who leans wholly on the Spirit’s 
power and guidance can truly lead others in worship. 
This is so true that weak and sinful men, who somehow 
during the period of their leadership in worship were able 
to cast themselves upon God, have led their fellow- 
worshipers into sacred communion with the Father better 
than have stronger Christian men who, for the moment, 
forgot their utter dependence on God and who tried to 
lead by their own ingenuity. 

(3) To center the thoughts of all on God. That the 
minds of the worshipers are not to be centered on the 
leader goes without saying. Whenever people leave a 
place of worship exclaiming about the wonderful methods 
of the leader there is something loose somewhere. They 
had not gathered to meditate on a man or to praise him. 
There may be a suitable time for that; but the hour of 
worship certainly is not the time. The leader has lost out 
when the minds of the worshipers are not united upon one 
Being,—the Lord Whom they came to worship. For the 
uniting of their hopes and praises on God they came to- 
gether. Alone in their inner room they could have wor- 
shiped God without disturbance; but they could not so 
well have “ united their hearts to the fear of His Name.” 
To bring this about is the task of the leader. He is needed 
for little else. In his preparation of the program, there- 
fore, his chief thought must be in what way this may best 
be brought about. He needs to know to some extent the 
experiences of his people—their weaknesses, their strug- 


58 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


gles, their obstacles and their triumphs. He needs to 
know the songs that may buoy them up; the Scripture 
promises that will appeal to them; the ways in which God 
has led them heretofore. Supremely, he must know God 
in relation to man. 

(4) To open avenues of expression. Because worship, 
whether alone or jointly, consists of conversation, the 
leader’s task is not complete until he brings to the wor- 
shipers on the one hand, God’s thoughts toward them, and 
on the other hand leads their thoughts consciously toward 
God. He must be prophet and priest to them. As prophet 
he brings God’s message to their hearts and stimulates 
fellow-worshipers to bring their messages, too. As priest 
he yearns to open the hearts and lips of the people in 
devotional expression toward God. Nor is he the choicest 
leader who can pray best, though this is much; for the 
true leader in prayer brings the petitions of other hearts 
as well as his own. But he is the choicest leader who is 
most successful in helping others to express their feel- 
ings Godward, whether by way ,of song, or of prayer, 
or of Scripture, or in the telling of a personal experi- 
ence. If he succeed in this, he may presently step back 
to let another take the leadership; he is making himself 
dispensable. 

In defining a leader in devotions we may turn again to 
our opening definition of devotion itself. Applying that 
definition, we have: A leader in devotions is one who 
helps the hearts of others to go out with his own in 
devotedness to God and to sense God’s devotedness to 
them. 


IV. Leading the Devotions. 
The elements of joint devotions are essentially those of 
private devotions, but their more public nature demands 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 59 


different methods. It is more difficult in a group to con- 
centrate, unless a tactful leader immediately directs the 
mind Godward. This is the leader’s first concern. 

(1) Centralization. The central aim of the devotional 
service must at once be made to grip every worshiper. 
Whether it be through a prayer, or Scripture passage, or 
song, or a brief, clear talk, each one present needs immedi- 
ate contact with God, lest sensational attractions or mental 
wool-gathering block the way. The central thought thus 
presented should, of course, have its own center and cir- 
cumference in God. 

(2) Contemplation. In this study we mean by contem- 
plation nothing more or less than the full use of all the 
mental and spiritual faculties, the turning of our “ loving 
thoughts ” upon God as He is revealed in nature and in 
grace. Our minds, instead of being busily engaged with 
the cares and pleasures that constantly challenge the 
senses, are in meditation and in all that goes with it busily 
engaged with the pleasures that grow from acquaintance 
with God, and with the plans in the mind of God which 
he wishes us to know. The same mind that was but 
recently mapping out a business program of work, or an 
artistic program of play is now in this process of contem- 
plation addressing itself to the things of the kingdom of 
God, as seriously and as joyously. 

(a) Clear the atmosphere. We may just as well 
acknowledge that the change of thought-currents from the 
earthly to the divine is not likely to be accomplished with- 
out some break. It were well for every worshiper to 
make preparation of heart before coming together for 
worship; but actually very few people do so. The man’s 
proverbial collar-button tricks, and the woman’s elusive 
laces and ribbons, that had to be endured just previous to 
the meeting, have scarcely served to put them in a reverent 


60 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


frame of mind. Most people are not contemplative the 
moment they enter the place of meeting ; they need skilled 
leadership to bring them where they ought to be. Nega- 
tive and positive measures are called for. 

Negatively, distraction must be removed as far as pos- 
sible. If there is need of fresh air, the windows had bet- 
ter not be opened at the moment when a leader is working 
to induce quiet. Some one should be assigned to the 
bringing in or the keeping back of late-comers. The 
leader must have his program so well in hand that 
fussing or hustling for appropriate hymns or passages 
is unnecessary. If there are children, then maturer 
people should sit among them. In case the children 
have received papers or other attractive matter just 
before entering, the use or non-use of these must be 
under the control of the leader. Usually it is best to 
have a separate room in which children too young to 
follow the leader of maturer folks may enjoy leadership 
more suited to their capacities. 

Positively, there is nothing more helpful to most 
people in preparing them for worship than sweet, quiet 
music. ‘The leader who can secure a musician who 
understands the requirements of human souls that would 
be calm before God, has discovered a helper indeed. 
That a wind instrument, except flute and organ, fails to 
produce the desired effect is the unanimous verdict of 
religious leaders. 

This quiet preparation may issue into a song, the volume 
of which should usually correspond to the number of peo- 
ple present. For a group in a Young People’s or Mission- 
ary Society the subdued song usually has the most whole- 
some effect; while in a large Sunday School department 
or in the church congregation a strongly sung hymn often 
serves best. But the purpose must ever be kept in mind, 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 61 


which is the subduing of the mind into channels of con- 
templation. Only where the loud song seems necessary 
for the giving vent to pent-up feelings that demand an 
outlet can it serve the purpose well. 

The results of this preparation depend largely on the 
hearty cooperation of the worshipers. Some seem deter- 
mined to remain mutely immune. One by one their num- 
ber diminishes, but a few refuse participation. They do 
not help the meeting ; neither are they helped greatly by the 
meeting. The greater their number, the harder the lead- 
er’s task. Without purposely disturbing others, their fail- 
ure to enter into the program makes it hard for them not 
to neutralize the leader’s efforts. It is the leader’s task, 
therefore, to use every means in his power to draw the un- 
interested into the activities of the group. Of course, 
every follower of Christ is in duty bound to sustain the 
leader in every way. 

(b) Suggest subjects for contemplation. In almost 
every meeting for worship countless moments are being 
wasted because the worshipers do not know how to make 
use of available time, and the leader fails to help them. 

“Let us have silent prayer,” the inexperienced leader 
says, and forthwith there is silence. But is there also 
prayer? Of an old Auntie who could neither see to read, 
nor hear to enjoy a conversation, and whose fingers also 
had become stiff with age, this story is told: “ Auntie, 
what do you do all day?” asked an interested neighbor. 
“Well, sometimes I sit and think,” she replied, ‘“ and 
sometimes I just sit.” The majority of those present 
when the invitation is given for silent prayer, “‘ just sit.” 
The leader needs to suggest the lines of thought he wishes 
to have followed and to hint in his presentation the phases 
that may interest, whether new or old. 

On the other hand there must be time to think. If a 


62 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


procession of subjects is presented so rapidly that none 
can be considered with thoroughness, there is little chance 
for meditation. Or if subjects bear no relation to each 
other, they confuse. We need to build up within the soul 
of the worshipers a content of knowledge, or a basis for 
their faith, or an ideal to be attained, or a purpose to be 
fulfilled, or the thought of a service to be rendered; or we 
must hold up before them an attribute of God to be 
adored, an act of grace to call forth gratitude, a promise 
that gives hope, a love that can be felt. Time is needed 
for gripping these conceptions. We must let them sink in. 
There is some teaching in the most devotional part of 
any service. 

(3) Audible prayer. The choicest instruments stand 
most in danger of abuse in the hands of the unskilled. 
Prayer is the most sacred function of any created being; 
it is most in danger of misapplication. In the days of 
Jesus, some folks prayed to be heard of men and to re- 
ceive their praise. Occasionally, we still meet such char- 
acters. Others pray as if they were supplying God with 
useful information. Still others make use of prayer to 
inform their fellow-men. There are those who attempt to 
impress warnings or instructions upon others by means of 
prayer. The best we can say of such prayers is that they 
may be well meant; but they are woefully misplaced. The 
leader who indulges in these mistaken aims will find him- 
self going alone; others will not follow. 

May we suggest these helps toward leadership in prayer : 

(a) Inquire from those present in what matters they 
are deeply interested. This is not necessary where the 
leader already knows. But where a number have come 
together from various environments it is necessary. An 
accident may have happened of which many are thinking ; 
a joy or a sorrow may have touched the neighborhood but 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 63 


recently. The leader needs to know these things, shall he 
lead others in earnest worship. 

(b) Inform those present of things that will interest 
them and for which joint prayer should be made. Talk it 
over together before together talking it over with God. 
Else, instead of praying with you, they will be guessing 
after you. 

(c) Furnish words and phrases from the Bible, from a 
Book of Worship, or from your own heart, that can be 
used prayerfully together and whereby the worshipers 
may express themselves audibly or silently to God. 

(d) Break into a song, while talking or praying, in 
which those present can readily join. The whole song or 
the refrain may be softly repeated with eyes closed and 
heads bowed. 

(4) Testimony by speech. The leader of a meeting 
should make the object of the meeting and the subject of 
this session’s consideration clear to every one present, 
close to the opening of the meeting. When the meeting is 
not for the purpose of hearing an address, but for inter- 
change of thought between the worshipers, it is helpful 
after due preliminaries that the leader relate a religious 
experience of his own. Others have more confidence in 
his leadership when they feel convinced that he knows 
whereof he speaks. To this may be added testimony of 
others elsewhere, whose books have been read by the 
leader or whose words were heard. Biblical material will 
usually have a place here; for the Bible records the ex- 
periences of God’s people more perfectly than any other 
book. The leader does wise not to bring out so much that 
his fellow-worshipers feel there is nothing more to add; 
or that presently when the inevitable lull occurs he himself 
has nothing more in store. The testimony of others 
should be solicited. By stating some acknowledged prin- 


64 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


ciple of divine faithfulness, or by quoting some promise 
of God, some one present may recall an event that verifies 
the promise, or illustrates the principle, if a chance is 
given to speak. Younger people will rarely be able to 
speak of their own experience; they should be directed in 
the reading of much Christian biography, particularly the 
lives of great missionaries. 

(a) Acareful leader coaches. Previous to the meeting 
he will impart to others some ideas he might have kept for 
himself; but he prefers to have them presented by his 
friends. He may ask some to be ready with prayer; 
others to speak; others again to start a song at the oppor- 
tune moment. On some of these he may call; others will 
volunteer without urging. It furnishes a feeling of spon- 
taneity which is not fabricated. The preparation of leader 
and helpers makes it natural. 

(b) The leader needs to insist on brevity and rele- 
vancy. If sentence prayers have been called for, then 
the person who prays two or more sentences breaks 
the rule; he goes contrary to the plan of the leader, and 
he needs to be set right. Probably, it would not be wise 
to adjust matters during the meeting; it may better be 
done afterward. ‘There are times, however, when the 
plan is so flagrantly neglected, that in the midst of a 
series of prayers the leader may helpfully suggest that 
participants confine themselves in their prayers to a 
single sentence. Of course, not all prayers need be 
sentence-prayers. 

(c) Verbal testimony is frequently enhanced by the 
assigning of definite topics to various members of the 
group, with suggestions for mastering these topics. This 
effort for codperation demands the leader’s sympathetic 
watchiulness; because some make promises which they 
are loth to fulfil, Reminders and help are constantly in 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 65 


order. Encouragement, both during preparations and 
after the task has been completed, works wonders. 

(5) ‘Testimony by song. The great hymns of the 
Church are wonderful vehicles of expression. Poets and 
musicians sang when God lifted burdens and made His 
light shine on a dark pathway ; when mourning was turned 
into laughter and fighting issued into victory. A subse- 
quent chapter will be devoted to the study of sacred song 
in devotional leadership. 

(6) Consecration. The full consecration of life may 
have its inception when one is alone with God. More 
often it takes place when other worshipers are present; 
because of the social quality of devotion. Ultimately, the 
expression of one’s devotions must be rendered out in the 
world. Songs, testimonies and prayers of devotions are 
like so many promissory notes; they mean nothing with- 
out their actual fulfilment. ‘‘ Faith without works is dead.” 

(a) The giving of money is one form of devotional 
consecration. A chapter will be devoted to its study. 

(b) The rendering of service to God and man, es- 
pecially by carrying out the program of Jesus for the 
healing of wounds, the breaking of bonds and the bringing 
of good tidings, forms the truest kind of consecration. 
Those who conduct “ Consecration Services ” should ever 
remember this. He is the most helpful leader of such a 
service, who shows the worshiper the world’s need and 
the Christian’s task; then guides and encourages that 
same worshiper to transform purpose into action and hope 
into victory. Without this the consecration service is 
deceptive, causing participants to fancy that song and 
prayer and verbal testimony suffice. “ Not every one who 
saith ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of 
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is 
in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). 


66 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


“Rigid I lay in my winding sheet, which my own 
hands did weave, 
And my narrow cell was myself; myself, whose 
walls I could not cleave. 
And yet in the dawn of early morn a clear voice 
seemed to say, 
‘I am the Lord of the final word; you cannot say 
me, Nay! 


** Unwind your hands that your brother’s needs may 

henceforth find them free. 

Unbind your feet from their winding-sheet ; hence- 
forth you walk with Me!’ 

And, lo; I can hear; I am blind no more; I am no 
longer dumb; 

Out of the doom of my self-wrought tomb pulsate 
with life I come.” 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER IV 


Introduction: 


Objections to joint devotions; 
Scripture for it. 


I. Reasons for Joint Devotions: 
Customary and needful; 
Jesus observed and enjoined it; 
Human nature demands it. 


II. Effects of Joint Devotions: 
It makes people equal; 
It unites human hearts; 
It gives the family feeling; 
It may stimulate others. 


III. The Need of Leadership: 
To avoid confusion; 
To let the Spirit lead; 
To help centering on God; 
To allow expression. 


IV. Leading the Devotions: 
Centralization ; 
Contemplation ; 

Clear the atmosphere; 
Suggest subjects. 


JOINT DEVOTIONS 67 


Audible prayer: 
Inquire after interests; 
Inform regarding interests; 
Furnish suitable phrases ; 
Guide in singing. 
Testimony by speech: 
Leader states purpose of meeting; 
Has participants prepared ; 
Insists on brevity and relevancy. 
Testimony by song. 
Consecration : 
In the meeting; 
In giving; 
In the world. 


SuBJECTS FoR Discussion 


. State objections to public worship; its dangers. 

. Mention help received from joint worship. 

. Consider the light of Scripture. 

Why do people now group for worship? 

What social elements are there in joint worship? 

How may non-christians be helped by our joint worship? 
Why is a leader needed and what is his work? 

. How may God’s Spirit be the supreme leader? 

. Consider the parts in the worship program. 


ONIN WN ps 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


Number of people that may helpfully worship together. Helps 
and hindrances in joint worship. Contributions in song, prayer 
and speech for joint devotions. The representative office of the 
leader. Good and doubtful ways of fostering a devotional spirit. 
Experiences and observations. 


For READING 


Manual for Training in Worship, Hugh Hartshorne. 
Prayer Meeting Methods, Amos R. Wells. 

How to Conduct the Sunday School, Marion Lawrance. 
How to Read the Bible, W. F. Adeney. 


V 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 


can be perfectly enjoyed or conducted is the sense 

of unity between those who are gathered for wor- 
ship; “The unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.” 
But this sense of unity can never come to pass unless there 
be a genuine feeling of identity with each other and with 
the whole meeting on the part of all attendants. So long 
as any of those present consider themselves mere visitors 
and not really members of the group, so long will these 
find themselves unable to unite in worship. They must 
learn to think of themselves, not apart from the worship- 
ers but a part of them. The meeting must be their own 
concern, with which they are truly identified. The secret 
of unity is the sense of identification. 

To secure this sense in the conduct of joint devotions 
there are available certain helpful factors which may be 
considered under three heads according to their purpose. 
1. The securing of loyalty on the part of every worshiper. 
2. The adaptation of the worship to the age, intelligence 

and experience of those who should participate. 

3. The contribution of the physical environment to the 
right spirit of worship. 


fies one condition, without which no joint devotions 


I. The Securing of Loyalty. 
For complete success in a devotional meeting it is essen- 
tial that every worshiper shall sense his own need of the 


68 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 69 


religious fellowship of the others. But this does not suf- 
fice. The tie that binds the group together must be so 
strong that each worshiper also feels convinced that the 
enjoyment and blessing of the gathering would be lessened 
for others without his own presence and participation. It 
would be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to intro- 
duce this feeling among a mixture of Christians and non- 
Christians ; but where every one present is a humble fol- 
lower of Christ this fellow-feeling can readily be brought 
about. ‘Their central hope in the one Savior; their unity 
of faith and love, and the similarity of their experiences 
serve effectively to bind them into one bond under the 
right leadership. When Christians meet with groups of 
disciples in a strange country—say native Chinese—they 
are aware of a finer fellowship with them than when they 
happen to fall in with their own countrymen whose habits 
are away from God. But whether the leader is dealing 
with willing disciples, or with strangers to Christ, or with 
a mixture of these, or with such as grade devotionally in 
between them, the suggestions we offer in this chapter 
should be of service. 

(1) Initiation into membership of whatever organiza- 
tion may be concerned, is the first step toward identifica- 
tion and therewith to loyalty. There are organizations 
under the auspices of the Church the chief purpose of 
which is the bringing in of those who have not yet ac- 
cepted Christ. Perhaps the least confessedly religious of 
these are the Ladies’ Aid and the Men’s Club. It is defi- 
nitely understood that membership in such groups does 
not betoken church membership or Christian discipleship. 
But the organization forms a portal to the Church. 
Within it are members who are also members of the 
Church and deeply concerned with it. The Scouts and 
Campfire groups that are conducted by church members 


70 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


are akin to the same purpose. Through Christian leader- 
ship the idea of Christ is gradually conveyed. But for the 
majority of members in these organizations devotions are 
unfamiliar ; they do not feel as if they had a vital part in 
them. To a degree this is true also of many Sunday 
School members. They are not members of the Church; 
they have not accepted Christ; but they have joined be- 
cause of other interests. In the case of all so situated 
there is need of a definite step which they can honestly 
take and whereby they shall be more directly identified 
with their particular organization. ‘The initiation service 
composes that step. 

(a) The service should be simple and in keeping with 
the nature of the group into which the candidate enters. 
In clubs, societies, or classes whose immediate aim is 
neither religious instruction nor worship, the name of the 
candidate should be formally presented to the group and 
the question regarding faithful purpose on the part of the 
newcomer, put by the leader, should be answered in the 
affirmative. The assistance of the group may then be 
invited to make it easier for the new member to remain 
faithful. Usually, it is wise to receive new members only 
at intervals and in groups. 

(b) Inthe Missionary Society there should be a prayer 
added to the simple introduction just described, with pos- 
sibly a Scripture verse to serve as a constant motto, such 
as, “Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only”; 
“Ye shall be witnesses unto me”; “ In honor preferring 
one another.” In the Young People’s Society it still 
proves helpful to have a pledge signed by new members. 
The pledge may be selected from among a number, or pre- 
pared by the local leaders; but some informal pledge ap- 
peals to young people and helps them to sense the fact that 
they are taking a serious step. They, too, do well to accept 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS yal 


mottoes. “The joy of the Lord be your strength”; 
“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile 
himself ”; “ Follow Me”; “ Whatsoever thy hand findeth 
to do, do it with thy might ”’; “ Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do?” 

(c) The reasons for uniting with the Sunday School 
usually differ in purpose from the reasons why people 
join a Missionary Society or a Young People’s group. 
Children may be sent by their parents; or they come with 
a friend; or they just like a crowd. The woman who 
joins a Missionary Society is probably already somewhat 
interested in missions. The young people who come to 
Endeavor or Epworth League meetings are likely to have 
religious inclinations. But these motives are rather un- 
likely on the part of new Sunday School members. Hence 
the great difficulty which their devotional leaders encoun- 
ter and the corresponding need of an impressive initiation 
service. Without some clinching process they will go as 
readily as they came. They need a gate through which to 
enter, a gate that can be opened and shut. 

In the ordinary Sunday School the Initiation Service 
may be held once a Quarter, the entire school gathering in 
the church auditorium, Pastor and superintendent will 
have charge of the devotional session of which the initi- 
ation forms part, the superintendent taking the lead. The 
purpose of the school may be stated and the factors that 
make it a success. The candidates are asked to step for- 
ward. ‘The ways are pointed out to them in which they 
may help the school in the reaching of its aim, such as 
regular and punctual attendance, reverent participation in 
worship, preparation during the week and effort to bring 
in others. After an affirmative answer has been given to 
the request for help in these aims and efforts of the school, 
the entire body may rise to pledge support to the new 


72 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


members. At this time a motto may be given either from 
the Bible or expressing its spirit. One helpful motto is, 
“Every member present every Sunday on time with his 
own Bible, a liberal offering, a studied lesson and a mind 
to learn.” Another, “Iam only one, but Iam one. I can- 
not do everything, but I can do something. What I can 
do I ought to do, and with the grace of Christ I will do.” 
A third, “ Good, better, best, and let us take no rest until 
our good is better and our better is the best.” A prayer 
and a consecration song, such as, “ Blest be the tie that 
binds,” concludes the service. 

The principle underlying such a service is similar to that 
underlying the naturalization process of foreigners. The 
taking out of their intention papers upon foreswearing 
their native government, and the receiving of their natural- 
ization papers upon a second oath of loyalty to the United 
States, impart to immigrants a sense of identification with 
our government and people. They feel that a great step 
has been taken, away from one position into another. 
This sense of new identification or unity with our nation 
is essential to loyalty. Ina degree not less lofty this sense 
of identification leading to loyalty is necessary on the part 
of candidates for membership in organizations under the 
auspices of the Church. 

(2) The installation of officers and teachers exerts a 
similar influence. Among groups of maturer people the 
service is largely a devotional beginning of a new term, in 
which the entire group confesses the need of and pleads 
for divine assistance. In a proper way also the honor 
that has been conferred upon the leaders and the new re- 
sponsibilities that are laid upon them are held up in their 
relation to God. The office is being baptized, and the 
officer set apart to be more than ever devoted to God. 

Where younger disciples are concerned there must be 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 73 


added to this the vesting of authority in those who must 
exercise it. Our boys and girls are disciples in the literal 
sense of the word; they need discipline. It is difficult for 
any one, of whose authority they are unaware, to disci- 
pline or direct them. Unless they see before them the 
actual vesting of this authority, they may fancy that no 
such relationship exists. Why should a lad carry out the 
wishes of a person to whom he seems unrelated and whose 
position he has every reason to question? The installation 
of officers and teachers makes it easier for our leaders to 
direct, and for our young people to follow. 

(3) This does not imply that our religious groups form 
autocracies. The Kingdom of God and all that it em- 
braces is democratic; for we all belong to one family. In 
our organizations the members should participate in the 
government. Of the members, by the members, and for 
the members, is a slogan toward which we must strive. 
The leaders need to retain their leadership. In the making 
of rules and the drawing of plans they should always 
remain leaders. But the members must have their share 
in the same work. In Societies the opportunity should be 
made clear repeatedly for suggestions in the matter of 
subjects for study and devotion. In clubs the annual pro- 
gram can be mapped out in the main by the entire group 
and in detail by a committee. In the Sunday School the 
pupil’s twelfth year of age should mark complete class 
organization, with officers and committees appointed and 
at work. Younger children may have class-names, mot- 
toes, pennants, songs and texts. All members of all or- 
ganizations from the Juniors up, ought to have a chance 
at least once a year to write on paper without their signa- 
ture, though with indication of age and sex, suggestions 
for the improvement of their organization, whether in 
ways of working or in equipment. Smaller groups in 


74: DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


which discipline is lax, should be allowed to draw up their 
own rules of behavior. Almost invariably these rules need 
toning down; because they are made too rigid to live up to. 
In Sunday School the occasional conducting of the wor- 
ship by one class exerts a wholesome effect; for it helps 
that group to see the need of general participation to make 
the session a success. 


II, Adaptation of the Worship. 


It is obvious that if devotion is to be a genuine outgoing 
of the heart in devotedness, the expression of it must be 
in agreement with the needs and capacities, the conditions 
and experiences in which the heart finds itself. Because 
of the innumerable differences of situation and ability on 
the part of the various worshipers that may be found in a 
meeting, the bringing about of perfect unanimity of ex- 
pression would seem a hopeless task; but we should never- 
theless address ourselves to the purpose of perfection. As 
far as in us lies we must in leading the devotions of a 
group lead out every heart in devout worship to God. To 
do so we cannot afford to neglect the age, intelligence, con- 
dition and experience of each worshiper; for we must 
represent every one of them. 

(1) Grading the devotions according to ages. While 
most children are nearly on a par mentally according to 
their ages, because of their schooling and their natural 
development of mental powers, they are even more nearly 
alike at the same age in their physical capacities. These 
physical powers, and particularly the instincts, exert a 
tremendous influence upon the hearts of growing worship- 
ers. We must as far as possible, therefore, group devo- 
tions according to age. 

(a) Little children, meager in knowledge and limited 
in experience, have an outlook on life radically different 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 75 


from ours. They entertain likes and dislikes without ap- 
parent reason, are interested in matters which adults know 
to be trivial, and fail to fall over themselves with curiosity 
about things that are vital to us. Even that which arrests 
their attention is but for the moment. 

Obviously, their prayers should be brief and simple. 
Lacking in language as they are, they should be provided 
with words through which to express themselves. En- 
dowed with rhythmic tendencies far beyond adults, they 
can give vent to their feelings through song better than we 
can. Frank to make known their thoughts and emotions, 
they can contribute to the composition of the prayers. 
Under adequate direction their devotions are pleasing to 
us and infinitely more pleasing to God. But, lacking the 
right leader there is scarcely anything more pitiful than the 
sight of little children in the devotional periods—so many 
lambs without a shepherd. For in this child-heart are laid 
the seeds that shall grow into reverence and love; or the 
seeds that bring neglect of God and hardness of heart. 

(b) Juniors require separate devotions not only for the 
sake of true expression in prayer; but also for the songs 
and Bible passages they should thoroughly master for 
further use. They have more words now to relate their 
religious feeling than younger children have, and their 
vocabulary for worship is constantly increasing. Not all 
their devotional work can be spontaneous, and for the 
deepest utterance of devotions they may never do without 
the medium of written prayer; but they should learn to 
express themselves also extemporaneously. It is wise 
sometimes to let a group of Juniors compose one prayer 
in unison, each member of the group contributing one 
sentence of it. Of course, this cannot be done so well 
when an interested and somewhat doubtful group of elders 
is about; they are freest among their own. 


76 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


The day is drawing near for them when the great de- 
cision should be made. Against that day both teachers in 
classes and leaders of devotions should prepare as against 
no other crisis in life. If little folks follow their leader 
out of pure obedience, Juniors follow because they have 
faith in him and admire his ways. 

The interests of Juniors are widening beyond those of 
children who are not yet attending school. They have a 
wider range of knowledge and a larger group of acquaint- 
ances. Home means still much to them; but not every- 
thing as it once did. This shifting of interest should have 
its effect on the devotions of Juniors, particularly on their 
prayer. To lead them in worship means to think with 
them of the circumstances that touch them most keenly— 
their home, their playmates and their school. To help 
them think of these experiences in relation to the heavenly 
Father is the supreme task of their leader. 

(c) The feelings of adolescents run deeper than those 
of Juniors; their minds are keener, and the development 
of their physical organs brings about new instincts which 
hitherto were almost unthought of. These lads and las- 
sies in their ’teens are wistful, eager, observant and crit- 
ical. They may show no desire for maturer leadership 
and they resent the imposition of it in any form; but in 
their hearts they know they stand in need of a true friend 
who knows. They are at the parting of the ways, unable 
to read the signposts. Christ is knocking at the door of 
their hearts and they wonder whether it can be His voice. 
In company with others of their age they may readily be 
turned to evil. With equal readiness they will bow to 
Christ. They need devotion in their own group, un- 
noticed by older people, untrammeled by younger folks ; 
but under the general direction of an older Christian 
whom they trust. Young people of this age differ widely 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 77 


from each other in experience because of different con- 
ditions under which they labor. 

(2) Suiting the worship to weekday activities. Ado- 
lescents either attend school or work for wages. ‘The life 
of the student differs radically from the life of the wage- 
earner ; the two are living in different worlds. ‘Their use 
of money and of their evenings sets them far apart. They 
have different leadership in their daily life and different 
ideals are held up to them. The wage-earner is naturally 
more independent than the student, and is likely to con- 
sider himself abler. But there are features in which the 
two have identical attitudes. 

The physical forces within them, such as the mating in- 
stinct and the athletic powers, are not held down by school 
attendance ; neither by most modern forms of labor; they 
claim a major portion of young people’s interests. There 
is the hope of advancement, too, both in studies and in 
employment, which greatly concerns the individual. The 
student wonders what he ought to be; the young wage- 
earner is anxious to find the most suitable employment and 
to earn a maximum pay-check. If it is not feasible to 
conduct separate devotions for students and wage-earners, 
—and we believe that usually this would not be advisable, 
—then their widely varied interests must be forever in the 
mind of the leader. 

Again there is the difference of sex which cannot safely 
be ignored. ‘The question of appearance looms big in the 
minds of girls. The impressions which others receive of 
them cause them much anxiety. Their friendships are 
more intense and less general than those of boys. Girl 
students make their lessons a more vital part of them- 
selves than boy students do. They look forward to differ- 
ent professions; or to home-making. Because of these 
divergencies the separation of sexes in devotions seems 


78 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


advisable, providing there are enough of each sex to sup- 
ply volume to the singing and to give the inspiration of 
fellowship that grows in the well-sized group. 

For group devotions twenty are none too many, and 
thirty or forty are better. For intimate purposes for 
which a sort of inner circle is required and where singing 
may be entirely absent, the number may be only two or 
three, while eight or ten are almost a crowd. But in semi- 
public devotions numbers exert a wholesome influence. 
At times all departments of a Sunday school should be 
thrown together for worship, and at least once a 
year, probably on Rally Day, all the organizations of 
the church. 

(3) Proper seating has more to do with the success or 
failure of joint devotions than is usually supposed. ‘The 
unity of the spirit is enhanced by physical propinquity. 
Scattering always hurts because it imparts an idea of 
separation. Back-seaters are more or less of back- 
sliders. Galleries render joint worship impossible, at 
least on the part of children and young people. Mass- 
ing for devotions and classing for instruction; as close 
together as possible for the first and as far apart as 
possible for the second purpose, should be the aim of 
every devotional leader. 

The old custom of dividing sexes at religious services 
had much in its favor. Not only are boys kept from much 
temptation when their fingers cannot reach any golden 
locks in front of them; but male and female voices blend 
more harmoniously in groups. At meetings where girls 
and women wear hats, the boys and the men should sit in 
front; making allowance, however, for the smaller chil- 
dren who would be deprived of satisfaction to their curi- 
osity and tempted to neglect attention if not seated in the 
foremost seats. 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 79 


III, Physical Environment. 

Architecture and equipment exert an unconscious in- 
fluence on the soul. “O, worship the Lord in the beauty 
of holiness,’ enjoined the Psalmist, and again, “ Strength 
and beauty are in his sanctuary.” Jesus, fully aware that 
men may worship the Father everywhere, did love the 
lofty glory of the mountain for His vigils, and the serene 
grandeur of the olive-yard. We must help those whom 
we would lead in worship, by providing the best possible 
surroundings. 

(1) The place ought to be homelike, with the attractive- 
ness of the home, but sublimer; with suitable pictures on 
the walls; the floor protected against the noise of moving 
chairs; the chairs and tables of color and size to meet 
physical needs. Scenes from the Bible, and portraits of 
missionaries, relics and views also from mission countries 
and from Palestine are helpful. For children, red should 
be avoided and green favored. It is God’s favored color. 
Rooms should be small enough to foster the homey feeling, 
and big enough for efficient work. 

(2) The instruments of music are of great importance. 
Not in vain did the Psalmist mention them often. A band 
is of doubtful virtue for all but large companies of people. 
Horns seem too strong for the accompaniment of small 
groups. Piano, flute and violin are more helpful. Song 
books are not needed till adolescence. 

(4) Everything that hinders devotions must be avoided. 
The work of the secretary is chiefly before the Sunday 
School hour; it must not be during the lesson period; 
except to collate items already obtained. Late comers 
must be tactfully held back during any one part of the 
program. 

(5) Gothic architecture 1s more suggestive of worship 
than the old Roman style. The Roman arch starts from 


80 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


below, goes up, and comes down again. It is from the 
earth, earthy. The Gothic arch starts from below, too, but 
it points heavenward. It is merely a symbol; but he who 
observes notes the difference. 

But in seeking aids for worship, sight of the essentials 
should never be lost. No form is of any avail without the 
living spirit within. Our own bodies are temples of the 
Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God, praying within us, is the 
greatest aid whereby the human soul may go out in 
prayer to God. 


“ Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; 
Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move. 
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art, 
And make me love Thee as I ought to love. 


“Task no dream, no prophet-ecstacies ; 
No sudden rending of the veil of clay; 
No angel-visitant, no opening skies ; 
But take the dimness of my soul away. 


“Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh; 
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear, 
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh; 
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer. 


“Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love, 
One holy passion filling all my frame; 
The baptism of the heaven-descended dove, 
My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.” 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER V 


Introduction : 
Feeling of unity; 
Mutual identity. 


I. Secure Loyalty: 
Initiate members; 
Install officers ; 
Democratize relationships. 


AIDS TO JOINT DEVOTIONS 81 


II. Adapt Worship to Worshipers: 


Grade devotions according to ages; 
Suit worship to weekday activities; 
Keep in mind difference of sex; 
Seat suitably. 


III. Make Physical Environment Serve: 


A homelike spot; 
Agreeable instruments ; 
Unofficious officers ; 
Inspiring architecture. 


SuBJECTS FoR Discussion 


. Why did you first take part in a meeting? 

. Why do you now take part? 

. If it is easier now, how did that happen? 

. Talk over experiences when worshiping with strangers. 
Describe worship with those with whom we do not feel one. 
. What is the virtue of initiations? 

. Criticize initiations you have witnessed and. suggest im- 
provements. 

. Give impressions of installations witnessed. 

. Discuss installation of officers in your own group. 

10. Why is democracy essential in religion? 

11. Compare methods in devotional leading at various ages. 

12. What instruments do you favor in devotions? Why? 

13. Picture your idea! place for worship. 


Ooo NQWRwWhe 


SUGGESTIONS FoR RESEARCH 


Make a list of the parts that entered into a recent meeting. 
Note how much is given to each part; how much time the leader 
took; how many others took part and how; whether those who 
led in worship presented their own desires only; if so, whether 
those desires were common, or peculiar to them. If this cannot 
now be recalled, apply these suggestions to your next meeting. 
Observe in how far devotions are being adapted to age, experience 
and dispositions of worshipers. 


For READING 


The Pupil, Luther A. Weigle. 

The Church School, Walter S. Athearn. 

Public Worship for Non-Liturgical Churches, A. S. Hoyt. 
Planning Church Buildings, H. E. Tralle. 


VI 
BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM 


A YHE program of worship is to every leader of devo- 
tions what the church service on Sunday morning 
is to the pastor. A minister may labor diligently 

all week to secure a large attendance on Sunday; but if he 

fails to bring a strong message on that day and to conduct 
the worship helpfully, some of those who came at his in- 
vitation will not return. The Sundays are his days of 
crisis. “ The hungry sheep looked up and were not fed.” 

It is the devotional leader’s one business to help wor- 
shipers feel that they are in the presence of God. To 
bring this about is no trivial task ; it calls for all the talent, 
experience, forethought and grace any Christian may pos- 
sess or secure. One evening a week is not too much time 
spent in thinking out the program. Unprepared leader- 
ship is as uncalled for as the running of Moses with shod 
feet to see the burning bush. May we emphasize the un- 
derlying principle with the help of a parable, the bare sug- 
gestion for which was furnished by Henry van Dyke’s 
“The Mansion ”? 

Once there lived a good-natured Christian of consider- 
able attainment, to whom the charge of devotional sessions 
was frequently committed. Occasionally he would remon- 
strate, saying, “ You know, I can’t lead devotions”; but 
each time he ended in consenting until people counted on 
him altogether. It was really so easy for him to lead a 
meeting. He never thought out its purpose; did not worry 


82 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM _ 83 


about the constituency of his group; made no attempt to 
suit the program to the needs or capacities of those who 
were gathered for worship. He just “led”; or thought 
he led. The selection of hymns and Scripture passages; 
or the subjects and wording of the prayer, never entered 
his mind until a few minutes before the meeting should 
start; sometimes not even then. He always got started 
somehow ; ran the parts in succession somehow and closed 
somehow. Of the true meaning of his task in charge of 
hungry and wandering and wistful souls he had not the 
slightest conception. 

A leader he was, but only in name; for those whom he 
was supposed to lead did not follow him. A goodly num- 
ber sang with him the songs which he or the organist 
selected; but rarely did those songs express the feelings 
of their hearts. Few, if any, prayed with him the prayer 
he was speaking aloud. The message, which God intended 
through his Word, this leader could not convey; because 
he had failed to assimilate its teachings for himself. He 
failed to lead his group; not for any fault of theirs but 
through his own negligence. His lack of purpose dis- 
qualified him for leadership. Naturally, he soon drifted 
into a groove from which he never extricated himself ; 
running the program the same old way because for him 
that was the easiest way. 

The day arrived when our good-natured Christian was 
lifted out of the groove and then lowered into the grave. 
The minister spoke feelingly of a good and faithful ser- 
vant whose mansion, of course, had been prepared for 
him. It was the first inkling of the word “ prepared ” in 
the career of this man and he was not there either to say, 
gainsay, or hear it. Far from flowers and epitaphs he was 
entering on different experiences. 

When he entered the Eternal City, to his astonishment, 


84 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


there was not a single angel to greet him. Up and down 
the golden streets he wandered in solitude, wondering 
what this might mean. At last a little lad who had been 
in attendance at one of his meetings came rapidly running 
his way and grasped his hand with feeling. “I heard you 
were coming,” said the lad, “but I cannot tell you where 
you are to’live. There seems to be nothing in preparation 
for you within the City limits. Perhaps an angel friend 
of mine can give you better information.” With this the 
lad scurried off, soon to return accompanied by an angel. 
The angel must have been reading the good-natured Chris- 
tian’s record; he seemed to know everything about him,— 
his business, his willingness to lead devotions, and also his 
unpreparedness. This last item seemed to loom rather 
large in the angel’s mind; he asked some searching ques- 
tions on the subject. ‘“ What was your purpose in taking 
charge of human souls at the period of worship? What 
have you achieved with them and for them? How did you 
get in readiness your own heart before so great a task?” 
These and other queries came from the angel’s lips in such 
rapid succession that our good-natured Christian could not 
begin to answer them and stood quite confounded. While 
the angel was still speaking there came running through 
the man’s mind a line which he had frequently quoted on 
earth, but had never applied to himself, “ For fools rush 
in where angels fear to tread.” The verse assumed a 
personal meaning now. | 

At the close of the interview the angel led him to the 
outskirts of the City where a lot had been staked off that 
very day. “ Your place,” remarked the heavenly mes- 
senger, pointing out the vacant lot, “they started on this 
since your arrival.” Our good-natured Christian could 
only stand and gasp. But the angel divined his thoughts. 
“The Lord of the City has not forgotten you, my friend,” 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM _ 85 


he assured the bewildered new-comer. ‘“ Heaven is ex- 
ceeding gracious. The plans for your mansion are now 
under way. This, we know from your ways on earth, is 
most in agreement with your nature.” 

“The Lord is righteous,—and very gracious,” answered 
our good-natured Christian, and went back with the angel 
to the heart of the Celestial City, to bow before the Lord 
of all for His wonderful goodness to him. 


I, Planning. 


A devotional program is a building, a structure. It re- 
quires planning; it demands architectural unity; it calls 
for variety in its unity ; for emphases in proper places ; for 
suitable foundation and finish. 

But a building cannot be thrown together like a heap. 
There must be a definite aim in the mind of the architect ; 
an outline to be followed; an achievement to be reached. 
A devotional program is worthy of its name only when 
it has a purpose. This purpose should not be arbi- 
trary; but should be in accord with the needs of the 
worshipers. It is obviously necessary, then, for the leader 
to know the needs of those he is to lead and also to map 
out ways and means whereby these needs may be most 
suitably met. 

(1) The leader’s individuality. God has a different 
message to convey to the world through each person; this 
is one reason why He sent so many different persons into 
the world. No leader, therefore, should attempt to act as 
some other person might act. We should be natural. 
Else there is danger of hindering God’s message which 
He would send through us. God wants us to be ourselves 
at our best and to allow Him possession of our particular 
powers; so that His nearness may be felt through us. 
This is true also of our aims in devotional leading. We 


86 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


have a right to make our own plans in view of the needs 
we see, the tasks that appeal to us, and the light we are 
enjoying. Our individuality as leaders must never be 
gainsaid, 

(2) The group’s individuality. We are dealing with 
others ; we are not alone. These others must be seriously 
considered,—their needs and their capacities; their knowl- 
edge and their hopes. Our devotional program cannot be 
determined alone by what we are and wish to do; we are 
to lead a group whose representative we are to be. Fre- 
quently a Society or Sunday School is spoken of as dif- 
ferent from any others. “ We are peculiar,” some say. 
They speak more truly than they know. Each group has 
its own peculiar traits; its own talents and its own tasks. 
It is essential to the life of each group that its devotional 
expression be in agreement with its characteristics. 

(3) It is obvious that ready-made programs are impos- 
sible for use; for they might presumably fit any group; 
therefore they fit no group. A second-hand suit in a 
pawnshop is a paragon of gracefulness in comparison with 
a printed “ Exercise ” to be slavishly followed by a leader 
of devotions. It is inconceivable that a real expert should 
presume to prepare such a hand-me-down; except for the 
purpose of showing principles of program building. The 
chief use of a “ Devotional Exercise” is to give a leader 
of devotions some idea of the elements that enter into pra- 
gram building, and possibly also certain material that may 
be used by the prospective leader in the building of his 
own program. Whatever goes beyond this in the printed 
program is imposition. It would presuppose a uniformity 
of mind on the part of various leaders and would result in 
a uniformity of programs on the part of various groups 
altogether contrary to the variegated minds and groups as 
the divine mind has made them. 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM = 87 


(4) The leader must determine upon a central theme 
around which the songs, the prayers, the Scriptures and 
the testimonies converge. This theme may be praise, or 
petition, or hope; it may be missions, or education, or 
service, or any one of the many reasons for which we 
worship God. But it must be clear in the leader’s mind, 
and should become clear to those who worship with him. 
The central theme gives unity, variety, progress and pur- 
pose to the program. Without a definite theme the exer- 
cises are as a body without a rational soul. 


IT, Unity. 


There is a vast difference between uniformity and unity. 
There is uniformity in mechanism; there is unity in or- 
ganism. ‘The one is dead and is driven; the other is vital 
and moves. The devotional program demands unity. 
Each part of it needs to be related to every other part in 
the same program, and each program should have its place 
in the series of single programs to make a seasonal, annual, 
or periodic program. Just as an individual acquires char- 
acter through the forming and settling of good habits, so 
does the devotional group grow in strength and beauty, 
and so does it develop character through adherence to 
well-planned ways. Lapses from good customs are not 
less dangerous to groups than lapses from good habits are 
to persons. Only when in full agreement with the plan of 
leader or group may deviations be permitted. Certainly, 
no outsiders are permitted by an architect to alter his pro- 
gram of building. Certainly, no outsiders may turn the 
devotional leader from his program to further the plans 
of some individual or organization that has no vital inter- 
est in the progress of his group. Only when the aims of 
others coincide with that of the leader, so that he can in- 
corporate them in his own, is it feasible to entertain them. 


88 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


There are aids in the hands of most leaders that will 
greatly serve them in their purpose of building each single 
program in unison and also of making each program a 
definite and constructive part of a larger whole. 

(1) Topics. Many devotional groups have topics for 
each meeting. The modern group of young people is rare 
in which such a topic suffices for the entire session; but 
almost invariably the topic proves helpful for the devo- 
tional part of the session. Even the group that devotes 
part of the period of its meeting to the study of some text- 
book does well to center its devotions around the topic. 
The topics themselves should be progressive, so that at 
the end of a set period advance has been made in devo- 
tional life. 

(2) Subjects. A number of devotional groups, such as 
missionary societies, have subjects for study. ‘These sub- 
jects, whether historic or biographical; whether taken 
from the Bible or from letters received from fields, form 
the natural centers of devotions. It will be necessary for 
the leaders to be thoroughly acquainted with the subject 
and to make the group somewhat acquainted with it, so 
that devotions may be intelligent as well as emotional. In 
the days of the Uniform Lessons in the Sunday School the 
lessons formed similar centers for the devotional period. 
By no means every superintendent availed himself of the 
opportunity. But to this day, leaders who so desire may 
helpfully make the weekly lessons the guide-posts for their 
devotions ; remembering the needs of the group on the one 
hand and the whole periodic program on the other. 

(3) The Church Calendar. The great days of the year, 
such as Christmas, Easter, Children’s Day, Rally Day, 
Thanksgiving and New Year, offer wonderful opportuni- 
ties for the unifying of successive programs. To them 
may be added the national days, such as Washington’s or 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM _ 89 


Lincoln’s Birthday; Independence Day, Labor Day, and 
Armistice Day. To many leaders these outstanding days 
have seemed so many obstructions in their hurdle race. 
These days have made them fear and sweat. When they 
were passed they took a long breath, thankful to be still 
alive; but dreading the next ordeal. They wanted to for- 
get its struggles. But those seeming obstructions can be 
made mountain tops from which leader and group may 
look backward and forward. Constructive work should 
lead up to them and the preparations ought to be retained, 
—the Scripture passages and songs that were mastered; 
the information that was gained on the way to the climax. 
Neither the leader nor any members of the group should 
spend time on material not valuable enough to keep and 
use again. 

(4) The ultimate purpose. The highest type of unity 
can never be reached until the leader catches the vision of 
a goal. What is the purpose of the devotions he is lead- 
ing? Are there church members who ought to be soul- 
savers and are not? Are there members who should be 
zealous for missions; but are still indifferent? Is giving 
liberally for the Lord’s work a common grace? Is there 
in the group a soul that needs the light to the heart of 
Jesus? Should brotherly love -be specially fostered? 
Are there young lives not yet surrendered; or professing 
Christians, not yet fully dedicated? May some of the 
group become life-recruits? These and many other ques- 
tions may labor in the mind of the leader. Out of them, 
by the light of the Word and the whisperings of the Spirit, 
he will lay hold on a purpose worthy of a Christian’s 
whole-hearted devotion. But until a constructive purpose 
has been formed no leader dare rest. He will keep others 
from blessings they might enjoy and he will forfeit the 
blessing God has in store for him. His ultimate purpose 


90 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


can be no other than the glory of God and the full salva- 
tion of men. This purpose every part of every program 
ought to serve. 


III. Variety. 


Unity is in constant danger of deteriorating into uni- 
formity. Within the unitary plan there needs to be va- 
riety. Mature people need it; young people need it more. 
Two or three songs to start off ; a prayer; responsive read- 
ing; another song or two; then the topic, the subject, or 
the lesson; this spells not merely uniformity, it spells 
monotony. The persons who compose our group are 
changing; their ways of expressing themselves devotion- 
ally should change accordingly. Older folks change less 
than do boys and girls; their programs call accordingly for 
less change. But let us look at the reasons for a varied 
program more closely. 

(1) Mental and religious growth. A person’s suit is 
given that particular name because presumably it suits 
him. As he grows he stands in need of another suit that 
suits him. ‘This is no less true in devotional experience. 
A program that fitted a growing group last year cannot 
fit the same group so well this year. They are in the 
process of growing out of it. The only excuse for still 
putting on last year’s program rests in the newcomers who 
may greatly need it. We dare not neglect the advance our 
group has been making in mind and soul; if they have 
enjoyed right leadership. 

(2) New interests. In any neighborhood, also in state 
and nation, new phases of life and activity appear that 
demand new interest on the part of Christian people. 
What seemed extremely important a few months ago may 
prove trivial now. When enemies that threatened have 
been overcome, new dangers are looming up, new causes 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM 91 


also for thanksgiving. Children and young people are 
studying different subjects in public school and in the 
Sunday School. Some may have different occupations. 
All temporal things ‘‘ wax old as doth a garment.” There 
is sufficient cloth for a new suit. Why, then, continue 
wearing the old garment? 

(3) Seasons. The climatic changes during a year sug- 
gest changes also in the devotional program. ‘“ Sowing in 
the morning ” does not ring quite so true in July as it does 
in April; while Psalm one hundred and four seems such a 
thorough summer song. Parts of the eighth and the nine- 
teenth Psalm tell of God’s glory at night and in the morn- 
ing. Just as we take off storm-windows and put on 
screens when summer comes, so we adjust our devotional 
program to circumstances which God brings us. 

(4) Incidents. Incidents occur in our immediate en- 
virons that call for a certain choice of Scripture reading, 
a particular hymn, a special mention in prayer; because 
those whom we would lead in their worship are thinking 
along these lines. If they are to be brought in God’s pres- 
ence, they will be brought with these cares on their hearts. 
It is our aim to have them cast their burdens on the Lord, 
whatever the burdens may be. Or there may be gladness 
in the hearts of some that should be expressed by all, at 
least representatively. It sometimes happens that a small 
circle within our group has reached the place where they 
can lead the rest in worship better than the leader alone 
can do it; because of desires and experiences that are 
working upon their souls. The spiritual barometer of our 
group must be watched with exceeding care. 

Variety in a devotional program may be brought about 
in at least two ways; by transposition of parts and by 
changing the rendering of the parts themselves. 

(a) There is a simple law relative to the placing of 


92 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


parts in different positions from previous custom. If 
there were only three parts in a program then there would 
be six possible transpositions. In case there are four 
parts, each in itself different from the rest, as, singing, 
prayer, Bible reading, devotional talk, then there are 
twenty-four different relative positions of these parts pos- 
sible. With five parts, perhaps adding the offering to the 
four already suggested, there are 120 variations at the 
leader’s disposal. The law is: Multiply one number in 
the series by all other numbers in the series of parts. 
With five parts this is, one time two times three times four 
times five, that is a hundred and twenty. To illustrate: 
On one occasion the leader may begin with a song; at the 
next meeting with Scripture reading; on a later occasion 
with a prayer. Or he might start with a quotation from 
the Bible; or he might make devotional remarks. Carry 
this change through consistently and most meetings need 
not be conducted in exactly the same way for two years. 

(6) Those who object to the changing of position in the 
series of parts may join those who favor it in the second 
form of alteration. For the most part they have already 
joined them. During the morning service of the church 
there are certain parts of worship in which no change is 
tolerated. The Doxology, The Lord’s Prayer, The Apos- 
tle’s Creed, The Apostolic Benediction, these are items in 
many churches in the use of which no change will be per- 
mitted. There is good reason for this ritual. It serves the 
spirit of unity, stability and dignity. But variety enters 
with different hymns each Sunday; different Scripture 
readings; different sermons, and in most churches dif- 
ferent prayers. 

With informal groups, including such larger gatherings 
as the evening service, the same part may helpfully be 
rendered in different ways. Softer and stronger singing; 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM 98 


longer and briefer responses; participation by varying 
groups; leadership in the hands of different persons; the 
use of various instruments to accompany song, these are 
but a few of the numerous ways in which variety may 
rescue parts of the program—and thereby the entire pro- 
gram—from monotony. 


IV. Devotional Qualities. 


The qualities that make for devotional timbre in a pro- 
gram require special stress on the part of the leader. 
Without these qualities the program is flat; everyone 
grows aware that something radical is lacking. But with 
them the devotions lift and inspire. The qualities on 
which the leader must ever put emphasis are: 

(1) Joyousness. The Bible is full of this emphasis. 
“ Rejoice; praise; give thanks; sing; bless; alleluia ;”— 
these words are constantly recurring. It would not seem 
right to enter the home of a friend with a grouch. A visit 
should bring happiness. This is supremely true in wor- 
ship. ‘“ The joy of the Lord is our strength.” 

(2) Worship. This observation may seem superfluous. 
Unfortunately, it is still necessary to remind leaders of it. 
Loud singing and good-fellowship are frequently mistaken 
for deep-felt devotions. They may be as far from wor- 
ship as the East is from the West. Songs that contain 
neither prayer nor praise to God; that neither testify to’ 
His divine attributes, nor plead His grace, can scarcely be 
vehicles of devotion. Recitations, that breathe no spirit 
of gratitude, nor suggest affiliation between Creator and 
creature, have no place in a program of worship. The 
leader who introduces such items, or permits them, abuses 
his sacred calling. He is missing the mark and causes 
others with him to seek a blessing in vain. 

(3) Promptness. The leader makes or breaks the de- 


94 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


votional spirit more than any member of the group. He is 
a constant example to others. Reverence is caught far 
more than taught. He must be at his post ahead of time; 
have his helpers with him ahead of time, and labor inces- 
santly to secure prompt presence of the whole group 
slightly ahead of time. To start late is nothing less than 
stealing, and it involves the leader into lying. ‘To close 
late may be equally serious because of the day’s whole 
program for members of the group. Prompt action is 
demanded from the leader also in cases that call for dis- 
cipline. This will not happen very frequently among ma- 
ture people; though occasionally it happens anywhere. 
There may be time for laughter in a devotional meeting ; 
but it must not be prolonged. Little bickerings threaten 
that must be nipped in the bud. Devotional participation 
by the whole group is the only guarantee. 


V. Suitable Foundation and Finish. 


Start and finish should both vary from time to time in 
most meetings, and need most careful planning. It is only 
to present principles and ideas for program building that 
we offer the subsequent suggestions. 

(1) The first item on the program, after a flute or a 
stringed instrument has softly announced the approaching 
moment of opening, may sometimes be Scripture, either 
read or spoken. ‘The Bible is full of selections similar 
to these: 

(a) Leader: Bless the Lord, O my soul; 

Group: And all that is within me, bless his holy name. 

Leader: Bless the Lord, O my soul, 

Group: And forget not all his benefits. 

All: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, etc. (Ps. 
103: 3-5). 
or: 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM 95 


(b) Leader: Praise waiteth for thee, O Lord, in Zion, 
and unto thee shall the vow be performed. 

Group: O, thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all 
flesh come. 
again: 

(c) Leader: O, worship the Lord in the beauty of 
holiness. 

Boys: Fear before him, all the earth. 

Leader: The Lord is good unto them that wait for him. 

Girls: To the soul that seeketh him, 

(2) At the closing of a devotional service, responsive 
Bible work is no less appropriate. That young folks 
should arise for the closing hymn is more a matter of 
habit than of sober thought. The natural tendency of 
folks, young or old, when invited to stand up as the end 
of a service approaches, is to prepare for a speedy exodus. 
The rising itself seems to suggest leaving. When every- 
one remains seated this difficulty is avoided. If the song 
is followed by a closing prayer, all should remain seated 
and keep silent for a few seconds after the prayer, when 
the pianist gives the signal of departure by touching the 
keys. The following portions from the Bible are among 
the many that prove helpful as closing prayers or 
benedictions. 

(a) Leader: They that wait upon the Lord shall renew 
their strength. 

Officers: They shall mount up with wings as eagles. 

Members: They shall run and not be weary; they shall 
walk and not faint. 

(b) Men and boys: Thy word have I hid in my heart 
that I might not sin against thee. 

Women and girls: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace 
whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. 

(c) At times just one of the group, previously secured, 


96 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


may pray: Search me, O God, and know my heart; try 
me and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked 
way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. 

(d) A beautiful concerted prayer, especially if some- 
one of the group is about to leave the community, is: 
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall 
preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going 
out and thy coming in from this time forth and even for 
evermore. 

(e) A rather familiar joint-prayer for closing is: Let 
the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart 
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my 
redeemer. 


VI. Study Devotional Programs. 


(he person who expects some time or other to lead 
devotions should study the meaning of his task and dis- 
cover best ways and means. Leaders are born and 
made ; they do not, Topsy-like, “ just grow.” ‘There are 
in the main three ways of acquiring the art of devotional 
leadership. 

(1) Study literature on the subject. Watch for printed 
programs as they appear in devotional magazines, at meet- 
ings, or even in the newspapers. Read devotional books 
in which the subject is treated. Write your own pro- 
grams, whether you have meetings to lead or not; but set 
a purpose before you, select a theme for your meeting, 
and picture a particular type of group you are supposed 
to lead. Correct your first draft and rewrite till it seems 
satisfactory. Discuss the matter with others. 

(2) Watch others leading devotions. You will notice 
flaws and you will observe helpful hints in almost every 
meeting. Frankly examine every feature of it. When 
you discover a real leader, stay with him. Pay close 


BUILDING A DEVOTIONAL PROGRAM 97 


attention to him from start to finish. It may prove neces- 
sary even to take notes. If you hear of a great religious 
leader, go miles to see him at work. But beware of the 
critical or psychological spirit. lf you watch a leader 
after the manner of a surgical student who watches the 
head-surgeon operating on a body, you will never find the 
soul of devotional leadership. Allow yourself to be led; 
then may the art become your own. Get hold of the prin- 
ciples, and let minor matters sink to the secondary place 
in which they belong, 

(3) Lead others in devotions. Work out your program 
in theory; then apply it; then look back over causes and 
results and prepare for your next attempt. Remember 
that we fall to rise. The amateur is bound to make mis- 
takes; so is the expert. It is rather a matter of gradually 
diminishing the number of errors and of failures. The 
greatest secret is the divine factor. The Spirit of God 
must ever remain the Leader of our devotions, leading the 
leader and leading the group. 


OUTLINE oF CHAPTER VI 


Introduction : 


The leader’s criterion is his program; 
It takes time to prepare. 


I. Planning: 
The leader’s individuality is rightly expressed; 
The group’s individuality deserves consideration; 
The program expressive of both; 
A central theme. 


II. Unity, Organic, Not Mechanical: 
Topics help to conserve unity; 
Subjects widen the scope of unity; 
The Church Calendar offers mountain-tops; 
Devotions should serve a purpose. 


III. Variety Within the Unitary Plan, Because: 


Mental and religious growth; 
New interests; Varying seasons; Local occurrences, 


98 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


Changing positions of parts; the parts themselves; 
the use of parts. 


IV. Devotional Qualities: 
Joyousness in the Lord; 
A worshipful spirit; 
Promptness. 


V. Suitable Opening and Closing: 
Suggestions for opening; for closing. 


VI. The Need of Studying Devotional Programs: 


Literature on the subject; 
Watch others who can lead well; 
Practice prayerfully. 


SUBJECTS FoR DiscussION 


. Tell of the most helpful program you have witnessed. 

. Bring out qualities that made it outstanding. 

Show weak spots in recent programs. 

Discuss time to be given to program preparation. 

Prepare three different programs for the same meeting. 

Read an unfamiliar Bible passage. Study it and read it again. 
Mention causes that worked against a poor meeting. 

Mention causes that helped on a good meeting. 

. Suggest programs for any two Calendar Days. 

. Mention helps at the disposal of leaders. 


SOON UB ON) 


pod 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


Examine ready-made programs to find parts that apply to the 
local situation; and parts through which participants can truly 
express themselves, and parts that fail to touch the life of the 
worshipers. Build out of this a program for local use. Map out 
a series of programs that will run from Rally Day to Christmas, 
or from New Year to July Fourth, indicating only the purpose 
that should run through them from one Calendar Day to another. 
Then prepare one Calendar Day program. 


For READING 


Responsive Scriptures, Robert Cluett. 

Outstanding Days, Cheesman A. Herrick. 

The Book of Worship, Hugh Hartshorne. 

Primary Programs, Marion Thomas. 

Scripture Memory Work (graded), Gerrit Verkuyl, 


VII 
WORSHIP IN SONG 


F the many activities in which we habitually en- 
() gage, there are few that carry as little conscious 

purpose as does our singing. This lies in the 
nature of song; for at its best it arises spontaneously. 
As well ask the skylark and the nightingale for the rea- 
son of their singing; they feel like it, and that is enough. 
In their spontaneous way they worship and praise God. 
For the same reason Jesus could quote: “ Out of the 
mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained thee 
praise,” 


I, The Purpose of Sacred Song. 

When it comes to the united singing by a religious 
gathering the question of purpose is more in place. Why 
is it so invariable a custom that a service of worship or of 
Bible study is opened with a song? 

(1) Not for filling in. One reason in the minds of 
leaders, but not always expressed, is that thereby more 
time may be afforded late comers; less noise can be no- 
ticed, and no part of the session may be lost that should be 
devoted to address or lesson. No other arrangement 
seems to many leaders quite so satisfactory. It would not 
do to pray during confusion; to read the Bible might 
appear irreverent, and it could certainly not be expected of 
any one that he should start to speak while only a fraction 
of the gathering has arrived. Hence, the natural choice of 


99 


100 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


a song for the first and probably also for the second 
number. 

That few religious songs, if any, were ever written for 
such a purpose goes without saying. It is scarcely fair to 
the author of a sacred song so to abuse his production. 
Neither does it seem fair to the sacredness of the song. 
Sacred hymns for filling in time are applied no more 
properly than are Bibles for filling a road-hole. 

(2) Arresting and transforming. There are more ex- 
cellent reasons, however, for starting a religious service 
with song. Almost without exception we arrive at the 
place of worship “in a worldly frame of mind.” Our 
thoughts have been centered everywhere except on things 
spiritual. Our mind attitude is not in the right condition 
for the reception of grace and truth. Our thoughts need 
to be arrested and transformed. 

There is an interesting episode in the life of King Saul 
to illustrate this principle. Saul was worldly in every 
sense of the word. Samuel, the greatest religious leader 
of his day, dwelt but a few miles from his birthplace, yet 
he had never taken the trouble to walk across the country 
to hear or see him. As the Lord’s prophet cast eyes on the 
big-limbed man, so good to look upon, but so far removed 
from his ideal of Hebrew royalty, his heart must have 
ached. Before he sent him away, he told the worldling 
that at the foot of yonder hill a company of young men 
would meet him, prophesying; or as the Hebrew language 
has it, praising God. Saul was to join the group of sing- 
ing prophets, and would then be changed into another kind 
of man. And this happened: Saul joined the company of 
young men in their songs to God, and his heart was 
changed. 

The conversion of Billy Sunday came about in a similar 
fashion. ‘Two-thirds, also, of the Japanese converts are 


WORSHIP IN SONG 101 


saved through the influence of song. Our modern evan- 
gelists are well aware of the power which sacred song 
exerts in causing men to stand still and consider, so that 
they may more readily be led in the desired direction. 

For this arresting purpose the opening song in a reli- 
gious service is without a par. Its strains make an im- 
pression on the mind not easily shaken off. The opening 
hymns should, therefore, be of a large and solemn nature. 
Whatever songs may follow, the notes that waft along to 
meet arrivals must grip and cause to pause. 

(3) Uniting power. Another virtue of song, which 
renders it so important at the very start of a meeting, is 
its power to unite various minds. People have come from 
many different conditions and with widely divergent 
ideals. A religious gathering is necessarily a polyglot. 
But spiritual blessings are contingent upon unity. Such 
unity is most easily and naturally brought about by united 
song. While a person is speaking, the listener has every 
opportunity to argue in his own mind; he may see reasons 
to agree or to disagree. Among the number of listeners 
there is almost certain to be division. But song tends the 
other way, if those present actually join in. The words 
that proceed from the many lips are identical. The tune 
is harmonious ; either in the same melody or in its suitable 
parts. Everything works together toward the feeling of 
fellowship and agreement. 

This power of song has made national hymns such an 
asset to respective countries. The influence of “ The Star- 
Spangled Banner ” upon the Colonial States in the second 
decade of the nineteenth century, for drawing them more 
closely together, was incalculable. “God Save the King ” 
has done the same for Great Britain. Or we may turn to 
Israel, where conditions existed similar to ours. David 
found a conglomeration of tribes; he left a united king- 


102 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


dom. Whatever other forces served in the welding to- 
gether of the Hebrews, the Psalms which he taught his 
people were among the strongest ties to bring the tribes 
into one nation. 

(4) Motive power. While one kind of song genders 
thought, there is another that stirs to action. During the 
days of the Vikings, the Norse rulers, in case they wanted 
war, would invite their vassals to their strongholds and 
would banquet them. Wine was freely drunk; but it was 
not solely relied on. At some point during the banquet, 
musicians were introduced, who played martial airs. By- 
and-by they sang the Norse war songs, in which the Vik- 
ings joined. Before the evening was over, every vassal of 
the king had lifted his sword in token of his readiness to 
follow his leader into battle. Of the advance of Prot- 
estantism in Europe during the sixteenth century, the 
Roman historian, Floreimond De Raimond, writes: “ The 
Psalms, set to music, sweet and insinuating, were the 
cords that drew away thousands of souls from Rome.” 
That whole, great movement was tremendously pushed on 
by song. The Troubadours began it, the Hussites and 
the Waldenses took it up, singing the new message into 
the people’s hearts. The Lollards, too, made constant use 
of songs. Luther was a singer and taught the Protestants 
his hymns. It was a repetition of the days of Samuel and 
David, whose sacred songs were so much mightier in their 
appeal than the ditties sung at the idol-worship, that they 
drew the people back to God. 

What this may mean in our work appears from a testi- 
mony of Professor Tomlins, a Chicago leader in matters 
of music and song: “ Deep down beyond the far-reaching 
influences of the schools, deeper than what he does or 
thinks, at the very heart and soul of the boy are latent 
tendencies for good and evil of which even he himself is 


WORSHIP IN SONG 103 


ignorant. These music alone can reach... . But the 
song must go deep down into the singer’s nature, until the 
throbbing beats of the music awaken corresponding heart 
impulses.” The songs we sing in our religious meetings 
are able to cause strong suggestions that stir the minds of 
those participating and these suggestions will tend to be 
worked out. Hence the immense importance of the right 
choice of songs. 

(5) Immortality. Songs that have once made a strong 
appeal are not easily forgotten. It happens at times that 
their persistence bothers us, so constantly do they come to 
the mind’s surface. In this characteristic lies an unusual 
chance for us. What songs we teach now to boys and 
girls will remain with them through life; no matter what 
kind of life they will yet lead. Scripture they may forget; 
instructions they may cast to the winds; every influence 
for good they may shake off; but these sacred songs, in 
which we drill them, will recur and recur again to their 
memories, their only monitors except the conscience, and 
probably more definite. 

Miss Helen Keller lost the senses of sight and hearing 
when only nineteen months old. In later years, after she 
had learned to give intelligent expression to her thoughts 
and feelings, she developed musical talent with surprising 
rapidity. Dr. Waldstein, her physician, suspected that 
some suggestions of her earlier life might still be lingering 
in her memory. ‘To make sure, he had copies of two 
songs, which her father used to play, executed on the 
piano. She laughed, clapped her hands and communi- 
cated: “ Father carrying baby up and down, swinging her 
on his knee. Black Crow.” “ Black Crow” was a third 
song, which had been brought back to her memory by the 
recital of the other two. 

Three thousand years ago a famous king prepared ma- 


104 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


terials for a glorious temple; he also composed a number 
of sacred songs. The temple was built and after some 
five hundred years it was destroyed. Another temple was 
reared upon its ruins, and then another, still more wonder- 
ful. But not a stone of these has been left upon another. 
Meanwhile, the songs which David wrote are still as fresh 
and vigorous as they were three millenniums back. Again 
the searching question rises: What are we putting into the 
hearts of our boys and girls to be companions with them 
throughout life? 

(6) Natural and spiritual. Nature and man are built 
on the plan of rhythm. The sun in its rising and setting; 
the moon as it waxes and wanes; the stars in their regular 
orbits, all march to the beat of God’s drum. In the same 
way the throbbing of the pulse, the heaving of the bosom, 
the pendulations of arms and legs, these follow the laws 
of rhythm. Our little children swing their bodies to and 
fro before they have learned to talk. Soon they coo. 
Oriental women, as they turn the, millstones, are accus- 
tomed to sing at their work, because the rhythmic swing- 
ing suggests it. Singing is natural. It gives glow to the 
body and fibre to the soul—if it is the right kind. 

Song is also spiritual. A statue carved out of granite 
embodies an idea, but it is thought brought back into 
matter. Painting is more nearly spiritual ; but it still deals 
with the visible. Music and song are invisible; therefore 
they form a universal language, which all can understand 
and which all may speak. 

The sacred song on the human tongue means yet more; 
it is the audible expression of God’s world through man. 
All nature would speak in articulate tongues if it could. 
The birds are able to express themselves; but plants and 
foliage cannot do so. Man must do it for them. If we 
keep silent the very walls must cry out (Luke 19:40). 


WORSHIP IN SONG 105 


Some day the praises of creation will find adequate ex- 
pression from the lips of mankind. 


II, Places for Training in Song. 


Heaven is the earliest home of sacred song; it is still 
filled with praise. But on earth the family should be the 
cradle of song. 

(1) Home. Among the Welsh, the Dutch, the Italians, 
the Bohemians, and many other nations, home is the first 
training school in song. The American home is not in- 
variably so fortunate. To hear a family sing together is a 
tare treat, indeed. In this we are losing out pitifully. 
Every possible pressure should be brought to bear upon 
our homes to cooperate in our efforts to raise a generation 
of singers. All the principles we have noted are just as 
true concerning Christian songs in the home. Unity, 
which means peace, and right purpose would be particu- 
larly fostered. 

(2) The public school. Part of the work in the public 
school is instruction in singing. But in a number of dis- 
tricts, especially in the country, the last thought of school- 
directors relates to the teacher’s musical abilities. The 
effect is readily observed. One reason why our rural 
Sunday Schools are customarily less blessed in their sing- 
ing than those in the city is largely due to those school 
teachers—and school boards—who pay no attention to 
culture in song. It is within our province to insist on 
thorough training of our children in song, every day of 
the week. 

(3) The church. Anthems and solos may edify ; but 
Protestantism has from its earliest days stood for congre- 
gational singing. The worshiper, who remains silent while 
those about him are singing, separates himself from his 
brethren and cripples the helpfulness of the session to that 


106 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


degree. He has a right, however, to true leadership in 
song. If funds are spent for quartet or choir, a certain 
sum ought to be set apart for the training of the congre- 
gation in the use of song. It is not likely that grown-ups 
will avail themselves in large numbers of the opportunity ; 
but the younger generation may, and we should offer them 
the chance. 

(4) The Junior Choir. This brings us to the training 
school on which we must chiefly rely. If our children are 
to enjoy singing during their later years, we must teach 
them now in the church school. Every normal child from 
eight to fourteen enjoys singing and wants to learn it; 
hence the popularity and the success of the Junior Choir. 
The wide-awake church will spend at least as much money 
for an instructor of these children in hymnody as for a 
soloist in the church. But not every church is wide- 
awake. There is need of much agitation before these con- 
summations shall have been achieved. For the present we 
must use the means we have now at hand, and make the 
best of them. 


III, Essentials of Worship in Song. 


(1) Single leadership. Not every good devotional 
leader is a singer; nor is every good singer a devotional 
leader. The organist or pianist cannot lead the singing; 
she literally “has her hands full.” A chorus cannot lead 
the singing of individuals or groups in the department. 
There is need of one person, whose eye is on the entire 
company and who secures cooperation. General exhorta- 
tions are futile; the leader of song must get to particulars. 
In case certain boys do not sing, the responsibility of parts 
of a song may be put on them particularly. The class that 
joins feebly may be given a line by itself. 

(2) Antiphonies. There is something still to learn 


WORSHIP IN SONG 107 


from ancient Hebrew practices. Such a Psalm, for in- 
stance, as the twenty-fourth was always sung responsively. 
Questions were put by one side and answers given by the 
other side. According to tradition, this Psalm was com- 
posed at the occasion of the entrance of the Ark of the 
Covenant into Jerusalem. Singers stood upon the walls 
near the gate, and singers accompanied the ark. Between 
them the responses were chanted until, after the last ques- 
tion from the wall: “ Who is this King of glory?” the 
triumphant answer came: “The Lord of hosts, he is the 
King of glory.” Then the gates were lifted and the Ark 
went in. In many ways this principle may be applied. 

Two facts we must face: 1. Discontinuance of song 
means discontinuance of attendance on worship sooner or 
later. Innocent by-sitters are not deeply interested in 
oracular performances; they must be induced to partici- 
pate. 2. Our boys enjoy singing and they can sing. Our 
business is to lead them into these natural and spiritual 
avenues of expression. It will require tact and patience; 
but it is being done, and can be done in your group. Every 
company of people includes some one who has a little more 
ability in singing than the rest. Such a one should be ap- 
pointed to leadership. Very unassuming persons have 
been mightily used of God to transform languid listeners 
into joyful singers. 

(3) Sincerity. Religious utterance should be as sincere 
in our songs as in our speech and prayers. To sing what 
is not in agreement with our thoughts and practices in- 
volves us in hypocrisy, and to inveigle others into such 
singing invites hypocrisy. It is true that our songs may 
and should express ideals, many of which we have not 
yet reached ; but nothing in them, not even their symbols, 
should disagree with our inner desires. Our hymns and 
songs are given us that we may utter through them the 


108 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


harmonies of the heart. One reason why singing may not 
reach the loftier heights lies in the thoughtless use of such 
songs as by their nature must fail frequently to serve as 
vehicles of the inner thoughts. The song, for instance, 
“Tf ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now,” cannot at all 
times be shared sincerely by many worshipers. Nor are 
revival song books naturally suitable for boys and girls of 
Junior age. Yet, almost every church is laboring with 
song books of that type, not simply for the adults; but 
also for children and youth. Youngsters are expected to 
voice the sentiments of aged folk, whose longings are for 
the home on the other side; and in sentences, written to 
tunes, they are induced to make confessions, which once 
came from the lips of converts whose lives had been 
blackened with sin. That songs of this type do not 
strongly appeal to younger people should cause no great 
surprise. 

(4) Grading. It follows that our curriculum of songs 
must be graded according to the age and experience of 
the singer. This does not invariably mean the use of 
different songs for old and young. Songs of protection 
have an appeal for everybody. ‘The very youngest, to 
whom the thought of God’s care is pleasing; also the 
mature, who have been touched by sorrow, may sincerely 
sing: “ He leadeth me”; “The Lord is My Shepherd ”; 
“Rock of Ages.” But there are thoughts which may be 
expressed at different ages in different ways. “ O, Love, 
that wilt not let me go” has in it the same idea as “ Jesus 
loves me, this I know ”; but each is appropriate to its age. 
“Jesus wants me for a sunbeam” is very similar to 
“ Somebody did a golden deed,” and each meets the needs 
for which it is designed. 

Our Junior and Intermediate boys and girls, so full of 
life, enjoy such stirring songs as: “Fling out the ban- 


WORSHIP IN SONG 109 


ner ”; “ Stand like Caleb”; “ We’ve a story to tell to the 
nations.” But their hearts grow softer, too, so that at 
times they may best express their Godward feelings 
through such songs as: “O, little town of Bethlehem ”; 
“I was a wandering sheep,” and, because of misunder- 
standings and disappointments, in words even as seem- 
ingly inappropriate at that age as: “ Safe in the arms of 
Jesus.” Remember, “The thoughts of youth are long, 
long thoughts.” It may be a revelation to some that out 
of four hundred and seventy-four children of the ages 
from nine to twelve, the choice of four hundred and seven, 
or eighty-six per cent., was for “ Onward, Christian sol- 
diers ”; “ Nearer, my God, to Thee”; “I love to tell the 
story ”; “Abide with me”; “Stand up, stand up for 
Jesus ”; “ Holy, holy, holy ”; “ Jesus, Lover of my soul”; 
“Rock of Ages”; “ Lead kindly Light”; “ America”; 
“IT was a wandering sheep”; “OO, little town of Bethle- 
hem ”; “Fling out the banner”; “ How firm a founda- 
tion”; “ What a friend we have ia Jesus.” The pre- 
ponderance of choice was given by them in the order here 
indicated. 

(5) Times and seasons. Cold and heat, sunshine and 
rain, springtime and harvest, all these do their share in 
working on the minds of joint worshipers. For this rea- 
son, “ Whiter than the snow ” means most when the snow 
has but freshly fallen. It is less suitable after travel has 
made it dirty. On the other hand, there are days in mid- 
summer, when “ Let a little sunshine in” does in nowise 
fit. Hymns that celebrate God’s glory in the beauties of 
nature are most in place during spring; and few of them 
surpass in this the ancient psalms. There are songs of 
harvest, too, and many symbols drawn from the harvest 
season, such as “ The Call for Reapers,” and “ Work, for 
the night is coming.” 


110 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


(6) Unity. Where Uniform lessons are used in the 
Sunday School, the central thought of the program may 
naturally concern the lesson of the day. Sometimes the 
Golden Text suggests a number of songs. Such a text 
might still serve these days to guide the leader in his choice 
of hymns, even where no Uniform lessons are followed by 
the entire Department. In a Young People’s Society the 
topic supplies a center. In every instance we should strive 
toward unity in the program of song, centralizing on the 
chosen theme. To illustrate how this may be accom- 
plished, may we cite an instance? It was the Sunday just 
following Lincoln’s birthday anniversary. Without a 
printed program, but as a result of careful preparation, 
the leader announced for the first song: “ How firm a 
foundation.” He briefly called attention to the fact that 
the principles of true living are found in the Word of God. 
The next song was: “‘ Somebody did a golden deed,” and 
a story was told of Lincoln’s life, showing how that some- 
body was he. Later in the program came the song: “ Joy 
to the world,’ because benevolence and service among men 
are due to God’s goodwill toward men, as manifest in 
Jesus Christ. Finally, the incident was related of a poor 
crippled news-boy, whose one ambition was to have a per- 
sonal interview with Lincoln. He longed to be face to 
face with the great statesman, and a senator took him in. 
The song book commonly used did not contain “ Face to 
face with Christ our Savior ”; but another song book did, 
so that it could be sung. 

Here was a unity of the program of song, such as 
should be aimed and which to some degree may be ob- 
tained in every devotional session. In order to accomplish 
this we may keep in mind also the special days of the year, 
and make them a vital part of the program. We should 
fall in line with the church’s calendar, Each meeting 


WORSHIP IN SONG 111 


should mean a unit, which is itself a part of the season, 
or of the year. 

(7) Variety. Unity must not mean monotony ; it leaves 
ample room for variety. Our pupils knew not a single 
song when they were born, and only a few when they first 
came to any devotional meetings. They should acquire a 
new hymn every six weeks, at least in the Junior Depart- 
ment and over. The same songs become very stale when 
sung repeatedly ; no matter how strong in themselves. But 
unless we set ourselves definitely to the task of imparting 
new songs, we are likely to get into ruts. Even thus we 
must remain constantly on our guard; lest we merely re- 
peat and repeat. Since song forms such a leading part of 
our worship, it is needful to make our selections with 
great care, keeping in view the age, the present day and 
the season. 


IV. Choosing the Best Songs. 


(1) Avoid small songs usually. One reason for poor 
singing lies in the littleness of the songs. ‘They are too 
particular, and fit too few of the singers. Unfortunately, 
the least prepared leaders usually attack the hardest prob- 
lems. The amateur tailor, who is set at cutting cloth, is 
much safer in handling a fur-coat than in trying his hand 
at a close-fitting Sunday suit. The same fur-coat can be 
worn by a small man or by one considerably larger; but 
the Sunday suit must be exactly so. 

(2) Select big hymns mostly. The big hymns fit every- 
body. A desperate sinner can sit down in a meeting and 
sing sincerely the Doxology. He could not sing “ At the 
Cross,” with sincerity; for it is a song of experience. 
For this reason the great old hymns are so safe in pro- 
miscuous gatherings; they express not merely what we 
personally have felt in distinction from others less fa- 


112 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


vored; but they give voice to universal adoration. “ All 
hail, the power of Jesus’ Name”; “Lord of all being, 
throned afar ” ; “ God moves in a mysterious way ”; “ The 
spacious firmament on high,” in these mighty hymns every 
one from ten years to a hundred can unite, and sinner and 
saint may enjoy them. Even the little children might learn 
a few of these; for it is not wise to teach our pupils those 
songs only which fit them exactly at present. We must 
provide them with some material that will remain with 
them throughout life; we must lay up a fund for them, to 
which they may constantly add. 

(3) Compile. Every Sunday School, or Society, or 
Club is an individual. What fits others to perfection will 
not fit you. No single song book is likely to contain all 
the songs your service of worship needs in order that it 
may express the spiritual life of its participants. It is 
doubtful whether any number of song books does. Most 
of us must content ourselves, however, with the produc- 
tions of others. Our chance lies, therefore, in compiling. 
From every possible source we must collect material. 
Whenever we hear a song that appeals, we should secure 
copy of it even if this means the purchasing of the book. 
Whatever song in a special program has gripped, we need 
to retain and use again. Always and ever must we remain 
on the lookout for suitable material; so that we shall gain 
possession of a treasury of sacred hymnody, suitable to 
our united needs. Meanwhile, we are to use to its full 
value what we already have. 

(4) Master songs. It goes without saying that chil- 
dren who cannot read, have to memorize the words of 
their songs. But it is helpful at all times and with all 
people to work for the mastering of songs and hymns. 
Primary and Junior children are better off without song © 
books; so that they can sing at home and on the street. 


WORSHIP IN SONG 113 


Those older should still be led to memorize one or two 
stanzas of each song or hymn; so that its suggestions will 
stay with them at school or at work, and they may be able 
to start a song spontaneously at a devotional meeting. 

To impress the meaning of a song, a story of its origin 
may be told, and of its effectiveness in the lives of others. 

When a sacred song has gripped a heart, it is among the 
mightiest forces for filling that heart with good and keep- 
ing out from it evil. Christmas Evans pictured the wan- 
derings of an evil spirit that sought a new abode. Ap- 
proaching a youth on a wagon, he heard him sing, “ All 
hail, the power of Jesus’ Name,” and knew that he could 
have no power there. Then he found a beautiful maiden 
whom he liked to give vain imaginings; but she sang, 
“ Jesus, Lover of my soul.” At last he came to an aged 
man, and hoped through him to influence children’s chil- 
dren. But the wrinkled face looked confident as the old 
man sang, “’The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.” In 
every case sacred song was barricading the heart against 
the entrance of the evil spirit. For where the songs of 
God are enjoying cordial welcome, there remains no room 
for sin. 


OUTLINE oF CHAPTER VII 


Introduction: 
Song is spontaneous, 


I. The Purpose of Sacred Song: 


Not for filling in time; 

For arresting and transforming; 
For its uniting force; 

For its motive power ; 

For its immortality; 

For its naturalness and spirituality. 


II. Places for Training in Sacred Song: 
Home; Public School; Church. 


/ 


é 


114 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


IIT. Essentials of Worship in Song: 


- Single leadership; 

Antiphonies and participation ; 
Sincerity ; 

Grading; 

Considering times and seasons; 
Unity and variety. 


IV. Choosing the Best Songs: 


Avoid small songs usually; 
Select great hymns frequently; 
Compile the best songs; 
Master best songs. 


SUBJECTS FoR DIscUSSION 


1. On what occasions is singing most in place? 

2. How can song be suitable in time of grief? 

SE or what reasons are songs missing from most homes? 

4. Why is it usually well to start devotions with songs? 

5. What songs have influenced you most? 

6. How many hymns can you sing without song book? 

7. Name your fav rorites and give reasons. 

8. Suggest ways of improving the singing of our children and 
youths. 

9. Master a prayer song and use it. 

10. Suggest ways by which in your church sacred song may be 


taught. 


SUGGESTIONS FoR RESEARCH 


Select from a cheap song book five songs that could be sung 
only after some definite experience. Then select from a choice 
hymnal five hymns which saint or sinner might enjoy. On the 
basis that through song we should express our souls, which would 
you suggest for a group of young people? Which for church- 
members? Choose a subject and select three songs that suit it. 
Also choose a hymn and find a Bible subject of similar nature. 


For READING 


Hymns Historically Famous, Nicholas Smith. 

The Story of the American Hymn, Edward S$. Ninde. 
Training the Devotional Life, Ch. IV, Weigle-Tweedy. 
Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers, John H. Hall, 


Vill 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 


HE bringing of an offering has always formed part 
of religious devotions. Not only such cultured 
peoples as Egyptians, Chaldeans, Greeks and 

Romans observed the practice of dedicating their gifts to 
the deities they revered; but barbarians also, and even 
savages have customarily brought their votive offerings. 
In Israel, too, the worshiper of Jehovah appeared not 
before the Lord without a gift. This was enjoined upon 
him (Ex. 23:15; 34:20; Deut. 16:16). It is God’s plan 
that giving should form a vital part in the devotional life 
of His people. Hence, he who would lead devotions help- 
fully must know the part which the offering plays in our 
devotions and should appreciate the accent that is to be 
put on devotional giving. 

A gift is an expression; it is a kind of language. But 
language, or any other form of expression, is either true, 
or false, or is without meaning. Presumably, the person 
who gives, expresses through his gift the willingness on 
his part that his life be used on behalf of the person or 
cause for which he gives. The measure of his gifts rela- 
tive to his possessions may justly be considered an index 
to the measure of his devotion. 


I. The Hebrew Offering. 


Say the Hebrews of the Old Dispensation the offer- 
ing to God was an expression of attitude toward God. 


115 


\ 
116 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


The sincere and intelligent worshiper, approaching the 
altar, said in deeds that spoke louder than words, “ My 
life, O Lord, does not belong to myself; it belongs to 
Thee, my Maker. All that I possess I have received from 
Thy gracious hand. Thou hast made me a steward of it. 
I can give Thee nothing but myself. Here I rededicate 
myself to Thee and this my humble gift is the token of 
my unconditional self-surrender.” This principle must 
forever abide in our giving. ) 

(1) False offerings. Not every Hebrew worshiper 
felt this heart attitude. In process of time dead form 
came to take the place of true devotion on the part of 
many a son of Abraham. ‘The less religion throve within 
the soul, the more were people inclined to let their offer- 
ings serve as outward substitutes for themselves. While 
they laid their gifts upon the altar they held themselves 
back from God. ‘They surrendered their offerings well 
enough; but not their lives. Their offerings, therefore, 
became utterly false. ‘They tried to have devotions with- 
out devotedness. They tried to bribe God by means of 
money. 

So customary and so general did these subvertive prac- 
tices grow in Israel that prophet after prophet arose to 
denounce them. “Bring me no more vain oblations,” 
warned Isaiah in the name of God, “ I am full of the burnt 
offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts” (Isa. 1:11). 
Micah (6:7) cried out with equal vehemence, ‘“ Will the 
Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thou- 
sands of rivers of oil?” The repentant singer in Israel 
gave even more constructive witness when he penned the 
immortal saying, “The sacrifices of God are a broken 
spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt 
not despise” (Ps. 51:17). : 

(2) Christian giving. The principle that underlies all 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 117 


devotional giving, and which is particularly the basis and 
motive of Christian giving, is the acknowledgment of 
God’s ownership of ourselves and of our substance. Far 
from setting aside this basic principle, the coming of 
Christ intensified it; for both His life and His death were 
an offering for us of Himself, a pouring out of Himself 
in devotion to us. With a great price He bought us. 
When we of this most modern age bring our offering 
before the Lord it must needs mean the outgoing of our 
hearts saying in visible language, “I am thine, O Lord, 
and all that I have is Thine. I am withholding nothing 
from Thee. This offering is my heart’s token that I gladly 
offer Thee my life.” 


II. Modern Handicaps. 


(1) Until recently, but little stress has been laid on 
training in devotional giving. The apostolic church re- 
vived and enhanced the spirit of the Hebrew offering, 
permeating it with the sacrificial principles of Jesus 
Christ. But during the Middle Ages this lofty spirit 
passed away from the hearts of most Christian worship- 
ers; or became greatly dimmed. In the Roman Church 
the notion of purchasing Divine Grace with money was 
fostered by the priesthood, rendering the offering per- 
functory. This deadening doctrine was successfully 
repulsed by the Protestant movement; but since the 
Reformation the idea of free grace seems to have in- 
fluenced Protestant worshipers unduly to the detriment of 
voluntary giving. The renting of pews for the support 
of the Church did not provide a wholesome substitute for 
the Roman Church custom of buying heaven’s favors. 
Add to this the almost total absence in the Protestant 
churches, for three centuries following the Reformation, 
of mission enterprises and the benevolent contributions 


118 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


which such enterprises require, and it will readily be seen 
how completely the true principles of Christian giving 
might be forgotten. 

(2) The peculiar way in which Sunday School work 
had its origin has played a determining part in the pecuni- 
ary habits of the church members whose religious training 
was for the most part received in that organization. 
Robert Raikes’ “ Ragged Regiment” was a benevolent 
enterprise. There was not the remotest idea in the minds 
of Raikes and his associates that the pupils of his schools 
should share in the financial support of the undertaking. 
With the introduction of volunteer teaching, which en- 
tered during the life of Raikes himself, the missionary 
and charity phases of the work became even more pro- 
nounced. With teachers and officers who served without 
remuneration, and pupils who were taught without the 
payment of tuition, there was little room for offerings. 
Quite naturally, therefore, to this day the offering in the 
Sunday School is not usually considered part of the devo- 
tional session; except in the youngest department and 
under the choicest leadership. 

The consequences of pauperizing our Sunday School 
pupils are incalculably harmful. Both literally and in 
spirit we have been penny-wise. As late as the ’sixties 
of last century the children under training of the Church 
were taught to sing at the time of the offering: 


“The mites have the blessing ; 
The millions have naught. 
Our faith thus confessing, 
This offering we’ve brought. 
Had we followed love’s prompting 
It might have been such 
As to forfeit the blessing 
By giving too much.” 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 119 


The more modern song in which certain Children’s 
Departments still indulge, “ Hear the pennies dropping,” 
breathes the same depraving spirit. 

(3) Handicaps are being removed. Nothing but 
radical measures can eradicate this deep-rooted evil. But 
radical measures have been brought to bear upon the train- 
ing of modern Christians in devotional giving. Pew-rents 
are practically unknown away from the Atlantic Coast; 
they evidently did not measure up with the spirit of the 
West. The abandonment of pew-rents has marked the 
beginning of a more voluntary mode of giving. Far sur- 
passing this is the modern missionary spirit; which has 
boldly demanded funds from all confessors of Christ. 
Only during the last century has the claim of Christless 
peoples on the Church again been acknowledged, and it 
has required contributions. The third great impetus has 
come through the world-war when people parted with 
their money till it hurt. The war has put giving on a new 
basis which without the war it would have taken decades 
to reach, At the same time we have been able to per- 
petuate the giving of lives in Christian service by count- 
less trainers of children and youth in our churches,—a 
hearty and genuine response of the people of God in the 
home-land to the last and great command of Jesus. 


III.” Training in Devotional Giving. 

The child is father of the man. Inadequate funds for 
the complete prosecution of the Master’s work at home 
and abroad are the logical results of inadequate training 
of the young in the art of Christian giving. Money- 
making sales, suppers and socials for the financial support 
of “the King’s business” represent the natural children 
of pauperizing methods in school and church. How hard 
is it for them that were reared on a copper basis to rise to 


120 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


the golden level; for penny children to become dollar con- 
tributors! And nothing but training in worshipful giving 
can serve to achieve the desired aim. This training must 
begin in childhood. The attempt to train adults in the 
sacred grace of giving while leaving boys and girls to their 
own devices is like building a gymnasium for grown-ups 
and barring youths from its use. 

Devotional giving builds character. Sporadic giving is 
not constructive. There must be purpose behind a gift to 
render it intelligent, truly volitional, and cordial. The 
habit of intelligent, voluntary and hearty giving becomes 
part of one’s being, and thus generosity will be an inerad- 
icable element in his character. For the accomplishment 
of this high purpose we offer these suggestions. 

The leader of devotions should help those whom he 
leads to understand the purpose of their giving. If that 
purpose is nothing but the purchasing of literature it will 
not seem high; but in all fairness it ought to be told. The 
purpose should normally go beyond this, however. Each 
organization within a church is a vital part of that church 
and is related to every other part of it. Each individual 
in the evangelical church is presumably a member of 
Christ’s great Kingdom. The program of the local church 
and the program of the denomination are the legitimate 
heritage of all the members, small and great. 

(1) The benevolences of the church are the concern of 
every organization within the church. A radical separat- 
ing of benevolent interests in parts of the same loca! 
church is like tearing a human body limb from limb. No 
class or society has the right to carry on its own benevo- 
lent projects without a thought of the needs and plans and 
capacities of other classes and societies. We cannot safely 
live unto ourselves. The educational work within the 
church, the evangelistic work by the church, the mission 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 121 


work through, but perhaps outside, the church, all these 
are to be comprised in the purpose of the whole local 
church including all its parts and members. Devotional 
giving reaches its highest meaning when it forms part of 
the complete system of benevolences in the larger body to 
which it belongs. The budget of each organization needs 
to be subsidiary to the budget of the church and of the 
denomination. The establishment of such a unity offers 
great advantages. 

(2) No member of any church organization can do his 
purchasing any longer with his offerings. Giving and buy- 
ing cannot be done in the same act; though the attempt is 
still made in numerous religious organizations. In bar- 
gaining it is an established policy to pay out as little as 
possible and to receive in exchange as much as possible. 
The idea of an offering and the idea of purchasing are 
mutually contradictory. Devotional giving is eliminated 
in the buying process. But under the budget plan the 
possibility of hearty giving is restored. 

(3) When giving has become real giving the purpose 
of the offering can be clearly presented, and liberality 
strongly urged. Definite facts for information may be 
cited regarding missions, or charity, or the support of local 
work, to stimulate benevolence and to afford joy to the 
giver through the sense of participation in a Christian task. 

(4) The informed giver learns to identify himself with 
the cause toward which he contributes. He is a share- 
holder in the enterprise; wishes to be informed further 
regarding the use of his gifts, and rejoices in good results. 

(5) The regularity of giving, which the budget plan 
induces and fosters, greatly strengthens the benevolent 
life-attitude of the giver. The sum-total of each one’s 
gifts is greater than it was by the old sporadic fashion. 
Greater results accrue from greater gifts and with them 


: 


122 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


the wholesome reactions of richer pleasure and keener 
stimulus to further interest and giving. 


IV. The Gift Related to God. 


The highest relation we have is not to a cause, nor yet 

to any human being, but to God. It is not enough for a 
giver to be acquainted with the purpose of his gifts; he 
should know that purpose in its relation to God. The fact 
that giving means more than the handing over of money ; 
that it means the giving of self, should be made sun-clear 
to every participant in the offering. His gift is to God 
Himself because he belongs to God with everything he 
calls his own. God is not, beggar-like, after his money. 
What God wants is his heart, his whole being. The worth 
of the gift is therefore commensurate with the attitude of 
the giver. “The gift without the giver is bare.” For 
establishing the right attitude we suggest the following 
helps: , 
(1) Let the offering be earned. There is in actual life 
an interchange of self and’money; which always takes 
place in the earning of wages for work. So much life 
energy has been spent; so much money is paid in return. | 
This fact should vitalize the offering ; for it serves to make 
the gift part of the giver, his very life-blood. With this in 
mind it grows obvious that a dime that has been conveyed 
from father’s purse into the palm of a child and thence 
into the envelope or basket, cannot measure up with even 
a penny given out of ten pennies that were earned by a 
child. That one penny is a tithe; it is the beginning of the 
tithing habit; it comes out of the life of the child. 

(2) In religious work with children the leader needs to 
acquaint parents with the budget system and to suggest the 
virtue of their children’s earning something. While it is 
true that children are dependent on their elders for every- 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 123 


thing they receive, and really earn nothing beyond their 
keeps when they help in or about the home; is it not 
equally true of us that we are dependent, and possess only 
what we have received? The child, that assists his par- 
ents, takes part in the work of maintaining life. Re- 
munerations for such services are honorable recognitions. 

(3) Contests between groups for biggest offerings are 
of doubtful virtue. They are unjust because one group is 
more able than another group. They hurt because they 
put giving in a false light. But there may be a healthy 
stimulus created to increase the number of givers within 
a group; then to increase the number of tithers from their 
earnings. In this we need omit none on account of pov- 
erty. The children of the poor do habitually spend much 
more for ice cream, candy and movies than for religious 
purposes. 

Children of comfortable circumstances spend in known 
instances as much for luxuries and pleasures as their com- 
munities spend for their education. All can give; but few 
have mastered the art of giving devotionally. Few oppor- 
tunities today surpass that of training in giving to God. 


V. Worship in Giving. 

The offering is an act of worship. To treat it otherwise 
is playing false. The sliding of coins into class-envelopes 
or society baskets, completing the process as hurriedly as 
possible, is a travesty on giving. “Take time to be holy.” 
Worship will not be rushed. Adequate time is demanded 
for the outgoing of the heart in devotion toward God 
through the offering. The offering must be made a vital 
part of the devotional period in every religious gathering 
in which an offering is presented. In most church- 
services the offering is solemnly dedicated to God. In 
many Children’s Departments of the Sunday School the 


é 


124 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


same impressive custom is observed. But in too many 
societies and Sunday School departments the offering has 
no religious meaning. It comes to stand for the abstract- 
ing of coin from the purses of innocent victims. 

(1) For smaller children we need suggest but little ; for 
usually their leaders have grasped the leading principles 
we have been urging. The customary march with songs 
of dedication or with prayer following is quite befitting. 
If the notorious “ Penny Song ” is used, its most offensive 
factor may be eliminated by substituting the word “ offer- 
ing ” for the word “ pennies.” Another prayer or song is 
here suggested, which may be sung to the tune, “ Father, 
hear thy children call.” 


Father, bless us all today; 
Be in what we do and say; 
Be in every song we sing; 
Bless, O bless our offering. 
In our worship may we see 
Something beautiful of Thee. 


(2) For the Juniors some of the Scripture responses 
given below will be found helpful. A combination of 
Scripture passages forms this prayer of dedication, “‘ The 
earth is thine, O Lord, and its fulness. We have come in 
thy presence with these gifts which first we have received 
from thy hand. In thy grace wilt thou bless them, we 
pray, that they may be a blessing. Through Jesus our 
Savior. Amen.” 

After a mission story, or with the mission offering, the 
Juniors may pray: 


Lord, in the midst of Thine abundant graces 
We do not pray for self and home alone; 

But we remember dark and needy places 
Where heroes of the sacred cross have gone. 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 125 


O Father, bless Thy Word wherever spoken ; 
Bring wandering hearts from darkness into light. 
Grant to Thy willing messengers this token, 
Lives changing through Thy wondrous love and 
might.* 


(3) For groups and departments above the Juniors, the 
Bible abounds in material for responses and prayers that 
may be used when the offering has been brought forward. 
Time may well be taken during the platform period for 
the mastering of such passages, so that they can be en- 
joyed without the interference of books. Those here pre- 
sented are typical of a rich variety: 

Leader: With a free-will offering will I sacrifice unto thee. 
Group: I will give thanks unto thy name, O God, for it is 
good. 


Or,— 

Leader: It is written, I desire goodness and not sacrifice; 
and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. 

Group: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken 
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 


Or,— 

One section of the group: The earth is the Lord’s and the 
fulness thereof ; the world and they that dwell therein. 

Other section: The gold and the silver are thine, O Lord, 
and the herds upon a thousand hills are thine. 


Or,— 

Leader: Honor the Lord with thy substance 

One section: And with the first-fruits of all thine increase. 
Leader: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty 

All: And thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 


* The prayers and songs are quoted from “Children’s Devo- 
tions,” by the author. 


126 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


Or,— 

Leader: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from 
above 

Group: And cometh down from the Father of light 

All: With whom is no variableness nor shadow cast by 
turning. 


Or,— 

One member of the group: Lay not up for yourselves 
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth cor- 
rupt and where thieves break through and steal; 

Another member of the group: But lay up for yourselves 
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth 
corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor 
steal. 


Or,— 

Leader: On the first day of the week 
One of the group: Every one of you 

All: As the Lord has prospered him 

Leader: So let him give. 


Not infrequently the use of a song may enhance the 
spirit of worship in the offering. To this end, “ Savior, 
thy dying love”; “I gave my life for thee”; “ Take my 
life and let it be”; and “ When I survey the wondrous 
cross,” are among the choicest. To sing one of these 
songs softly, while the offering is being brought forward, 
helps greatly to impress the devotional nature of the 
giving. 


VI. Giving in Response to God’s Love. 


The most beautiful observances are like sounding brass 
and a tinkling cymbal if love is not in them. No ritual or 
ceremony has ever blest a soul or honored God unless it 


DEVOTIONAL GIVING 127 


served that soul to let his adoration and devotion go out 
toward God more fully. The ritual should at least express 
the ideals of the human heart at its best. Never dare we 
cease inculcate the principle, which God has first taught 
us, that our gifts are the responses of our whole being to 
God’s love for us. When this has been observed and is 
fully understood and felt, then these expressions we have 
already suggested do aid the impression. A worshipful 
conduct of the devotions in connection with the offering 
leads to a more hearty offering. 

On the part of older people thoughts usually precede 
actions. But with younger folks actions help greatly to 
create thoughts. A carefully prepared program, that in- 
cludes the offering as a vital factor in it, makes true devo- 
tional giving far more certain than does the customary 
dropping of coins in casual receptacles. 

Our giving to God is a visible prayer of thanksgiving 
for His marvelous grace to us, a grace which we can only 
attempt to repay in small part. But like all true devotion 
it is an outgoing of the heart to God. 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER VIII 


Introduction: 


Offerings part of all worship; 
Should express the worshiper’s love. 


I. The Hebrew Offering to Be Such Expression: 


Falsified by later worshipers ; 
Rectified in Christian living. 


II. Modern Handicaps: 
Giving in poor repute with Reformers; 
Sunday school a benevolent institution; 
Radical changes needed and applied. 


III. Training in Devotional Giving: 
It builds character ; 
The purpose must be understood ; 
Ali church organizations one in purpose; 


128 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


No purchasing of materials but giving; 
Facts cited to stimulate giving; 

The giver identified with the cause; 
Regularity increases gifts and interests. 


IV. The Gift Related to God: 


The offering should have been earned; 
Leaders ought to cooperate with parents; 
No contests for much but for many. 


V. Worship in Giving,—the Offering Dedicated: 


Children’s offering songs and prayers; 
Juniors’ Scripture responses and prayers; 
Young people’s responses. 


VI. Giving in Response to God’s Love: 


The offering an outgoing of the heart; 
The act creates the thought in young folks; 
Our gifts a prayer of thanksgiving. 


SUBJECTS FOR DIscussION 


. Customs regarding offerings that fell within your observation. 
Changes in ideas about giving We our life-time. 

Giving in our Sunday school, Society and church discussed. 
The later Hebrew and the Roman Catholic ways of giving. 
The untrained child’s idea of giving'and how to correct it. 
Ways of earning on the part of children. 

Personal ideas on giving exchanged freely. 

The offering as a collection or as an act of worship. 

What about those who receive? Their feeling; their blessing? 
. The idea of reciprocation in giving. 


SOON ON bw 


— 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


Find appropriate verses and sentences from sacred and secular 
literature that may be used as they are, or may be adapted for 
prayers and responses with the offering. Find suitable songs. 
Write prayers for the offering, one for little folks, another for 
Juniors, a third for young people, a fourth for adults. Make an 
investigation in your own church regarding the capacity to give 
and the actual giving; also regarding the earning of the offering 
on the part of non-wage-earners. 


For READING 


You and Yours, Guy L. Morrill. 

Property, Its Rights and Duties, Bishop Gore, 
Religion and Business, Roger Babson. 

The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie. 


IX 


CULTURE IN PRAYER 


prayer-meeting, or teaching in the Sunday School, 

the devotional program usually consists, in the 
main, of four parts, in which every one present is expected 
to participate: singing, prayer, some reading or recitation 
from the Word, and the offering. These parts are not 
accidental; they are to form vital and abiding factors in 
the normal Christian’s life. Without a song of praise 
upon his lips, a prayer welling up from his heart, a word 
divine among the treasures of his mind, and a love-gift in 
his hand, the Christian is crippled, to say the least. This 
devotional program, therefore, is preparatory for the 
Christian’s living. 

If God is the greatest fact in the universe, then the 
greatest of these factors of preparation is prayer. A 
prayerless life is a godless life. We hope above all things 
to see our boys and girls grow into men and women who 
sincerely pray; for prayer must lie at the basis of worthy 
living. But we are scarcely justified in looking for such a 
prayer-filled maturity unless we train our boys and girls 
in prayer. Today, they must learn what both today and 
tomorrow they are to practice. 

The art of prayer has not been generally mastered, even 
among the more faithful Christian people. Our prayer 
meetings give some evidence of this. The personal, daily 
habits of many good folks show it even more. The 


129 


Baie preaching in church, or testimony in the 


130 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


grown-ups of today were not taught to pray when they 
were little ; hence, they “ know not how to pray.” It is as 
true in this respect as in any other that, “ Whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth spar- 
ingly, shall reap also sparingly.” 

That the art of prayer can be taught is evidenced from 
our Master’s work with His disciples. He came among a 
people whose religious leaders prayed loudly and long, 
standing in public places to be heard of men. They did 
not know how to pray. After three years of fellowship 
with Him those followers of His had grown sufficiently 
versed in the practice and spirit of worship to remain for 
ten days together “in the breaking of bread and in 
prayers,’ and this before the Holy Spirit had yet in power 
come upon them. This teaching of worship on the part 
of Jesus meant more than the imparting of words. While 
the longing which urges prayer must come from the heart 
itself, suggestions are needed for helpful ways of praying, 
and these the Master gave at various occasions. 

Culture in prayer involves these three factors: (1) A 
growing sense of God, who is not only almighty; but also 
all-wise and all-good. (2) A deepening confidence that 
between God and self there is a close relation, so that God 
knows everything, cares for, and willingly listens to His 
creatures; as nothing is too insignificant for Him. (3) 
The suggesting of causes, ways, and words through which 
the worshiper may express his thoughts and feelings most 
truly and completely in the presence of God. 

Our greatest teacher in this subject is Jesus Himself, 
who taught His disciples with such marvelous success. 
His teachings of the subject are sevenfold. 


I. Example. 
Had Jesus never once told His disciples that they ought 


CULTURE IN PRAYER 131 


to pray, they should nevertheless have caught a lesson 
from His example. He drew apart to pray. Many a 
night He communed with the Father. During the day, 
also, in the face of some great task, He looked up to 
heaven and prayed. At the breaking of bread He always 
gave thanks. So forcefully was this example felt by the 
disciples that once after our Lord had quietly prayed, they 
came to Him with the request to teach them how to pray. 

In the same way our own prayer-life can be the most 
effective stimulus to make others want to pray. We need 
not tell them to watch us pray. Jesus never suggested 
such a thing. On the contrary, He warned against exhi- 
bition in prayer. But when He came out of His season 
of communion there was a power within Him and about 
Him, an effluence that could be felt. If we practice the 
presence of God and divine fellowship in prayer, our dis- 
ciples will sense it. Something of this principle the Savior 
intimated when He said: “ And the Father which heareth 
in secret shall reward thee openly.” 


II. Intercessory Prayer. 


Jesus prayed on behalf of His disciples. In the upper 
room they heard it. Sometimes He told them of it: 
“Simon, Simon,” He said, when Peter was about to be 
tempted, “ Satan has asked to have you, that he might sift 
you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee.” He made the 
promise also that in the presence of the Father, when He 
should have gone from them in the body, He would still 
make intercession for them. Today we still think of Him 
as the great High Priest, who “ ever liveth to make inter- 
cession for us ” (Heb. 7:25) ; in whose Name we come to 
the Father, and trusting whom we close our prayers with 
the words, “In Jesus’ Name,” or “ For Jesus’ sake.” 

The religious leader must ever be his disciple’s interces- 


182 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


sor. In accepting the call of teacher or officer in a reli- 
gious organization we assume spiritual parenthood; we 
make each member of the group a member of our spiritual 
household. Usually, we pray for others in our own secret 
chamber; but is there any conclusive reason why we 
should not do so also in their presence? If some misfor- 
tune has befallen the family, or some blessing has come 
upon them, the opportunity for intercessory prayer should 
not be neglected. In no case, however, should we pray at 
anyone. Resentment to such a course on the part of the 
“innocent victim ”’ is inevitable. No spiritual leader must 
abuse the sacred moments of prayer by trying to point out 
wrongs. Preaching is not praying. 


II. Fellowship Prayer. 


There were times when Jesus prayed together with His 
disciples. No mention is made of it during the earlier 
days of His ministry. Perhaps His companions were not 
yet ready to unite with Him; possibly the mention of it 
has merely been omitted. It is known, however, that on 
the Mount of Transfiguration He prayed with the three 
disciples, and in the Garden He asked them to pray with 
Him. In the Upper Room (John 17) they prayed to- 
gether, just ready to enter the Garden. 

(1) Sympathetic. Jesus was able to unite with them in 
prayer because He united with them in their lives. He 
knew their hopes and fears, their weaknesses and their 
power. We cannot enter into the holiest thoughts of 
others and lead them on in prayer, unless we learn in some 
measure their experiences, their ambitions, their disap- 
pointments. Jesus, Himself, told His companions of His 
own anguish when His heart was greatly troubled; so 
closely had He intertwined their lives with His own. In 
the lives of our fellow-worshipers, whether younger or 


CULTURE IN PRAYER 133 


older, the time will come when they are under a cloud. 
Misunderstandings arise ; disappointments are sorely felt ; 
sometimes there is great joy. To lead the thoughts of 
their hearts upward to the heavenly Father, whose infinite 
heart throbs with the feelings of us all, is the supreme 
achievement of the Christian leader. ‘They must become 
aware of their close relation to God. | 

(2) Intimate. Occasionally, it may be wise to mention 
the name of one in the group in such an intimate prayer. 
In too many cases the names of Abraham and of Moses 
sound more familiar to people in the act of worship than 
their own names. To find themselves immediately related 
to God, may be a revelation to many. It is helpful, also, to 
watch for the time when this one and that one can express 
his own thoughts in prayer. Self-expression is his right, 
from which he may not be deprived longer than necessary. 
Ten words from his own heart through his own lips, are 
of more value to a disciple than many hundred words by a 
leader, whom, perchance, he is not following. 


IV. Reminders. 


Jesus definitely enjoined upon His disciples that they 
ought to pray. The parable of the unjust judge and the 
importunate widow was taught for the distinct purpose of 
showing “how men ought always to pray and not to 
faint,’ (Luke 18:1). Such further admonitions as, 
“ Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; 
knock and it shall be opened unto you,” (Matt. 7:7), and 
again: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching 
anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of 
my Father which is in heaven,” (Matt. 18:19) leave little 
room for questioning. ‘They were stimulating reminders, 
which Jesus gave His disciples, and reminders are helpful 
in their place. 


134 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


In the experience of those whom we lead as well as in 
our own the humdrum of life tends to obliterate prayer. 
We must diligently point out to our group the need of 
prayer, and suggest the most promising seasons each day 
for observing private devotions. It is well that we con- 
sider with them their best possible moments of the day for 
that purpose, and to agree upon definite periods. A count- 
ing of the day’s occupied hours and open periods often 
proves revealing. Occasionally, we may inquire in how 
far the good plan has been carried out; their purposes may 
need strengthening. Jesus told a story to enforce the need 
of constant prayer. Similarly we can present incidents 
from the lives of praying men, such as Luther, Washing- 
ton, Lincoln, Livingstone, and Chinese Gordon to show the 
meaning of prayer in the lives of those noted characters. 


V. Suggesting Right Ways. 

Our Savior warned against ‘wrong ways of praying. 
The Pharisees prayed foolishly and should not be heard 
for their loud speaking; nor might the heathen expect 
answers for their vain repetitions. Nor should men wor- 
ship haughtily, as did the Pharisee in the temple. Man 
should feel humble before the Lord his Maker; reverent 
in his approach to God, and ever in sympathetic touch 
with his fellow-worshipers. ‘The inner, secret prayer, un- 
heard of man, is more likely to be heard of God than the 
public prayer that is uttered with self-gratification. In the 
prayer itself we must remain mindful that God is wiser 
than man, infinitely more gracious, and that His will is 
best. Never has Jesus given us any reason to believe that 
we may impose our plans upon God and may try to compel 
Him into agreement with our wishes. All this is so sweep- 
ing in its principles, that we may transfer these principles 
themselves, to which Jesus adhered, bodily to our own 


“CULTURE IN PRAYER 135 


ways of teaching to pray. Nothing has changed in the 
matter since Jesus trained His followers. 


VI. Suggesting Subjects. 

Thus has Jesus in various ways suggested the need and 
the nature of prayer ; but He went further still. He made 
it clear to them for what they ought to pray. They might 
pray for physical comfort; for He said that in the face of 
the impending doom of Jerusalem, they should pray that 
their flight be not in winter (Matt. 24:20). They should 
pray for others, even for them that despitefully used them. 
Against the wiles of the devil and for the coming of the 
Spirit they should pray. But no lesson in prayer sur- 
passes that one which He imparted after He had looked 
with deep compassion on the multitude, so faint and 
weary, as sheep without a shepherd. Those people needed 
Him. He wanted the young men about Him to feel the 
pity of it. He pictured to them the wants of the people 
and concluded: “ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the har- 
vest that He will send forth laborers into the harvest ” 
(Matt. 9:38). In these ways He suggested subjects 
for prayer. 

(1) The minds of our sons and daughters should very 
early be directed to the great mission-fields which are even 
now ripe for the harvest; while laborers still are few. 
Through similar direction many of our noblest mission- 
aries have been drawn into the service. But we must tell 
them of the people for whom they are asked to pray. 
Many objects for prayer may be found also in our home- 
land and in our own vicinity. Sickness and sorrow are all 
about us, too, and to whom shall our expectations turn, 
but to the Great Physician who is the same yesterday, to- 
day and forever! 

(2) To foster the practice of prayer for causes, con- 


136 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


ditions and personal needs, suggestions for prayer should 
be given by the leader. A circumstance may be related 
that will occasion the thought of prayer for divine com- 
fort or help. Information concerning situations that call 
for prayer may be gathered during the devotional exer- 
cises, from the worshipers themselves. Such informa- 
tion usually needs restatement by the leader, so that all 
the members may become acquainted with the causes 
for prayer. 

(3) The prayer itself may, after these suggestions, at 
times be silent, to be followed by an audible prayer; or 
it may be spoken by the leader and followed audibly by 
the members, clause by clause. For instance: “ Our 
gracious Father, we pray Thee . . . to remember in love 
Roy Miller’s brother. . . . Wilt Thou comfort him in his 
suffering. . . . Help him to know that Thou art still with 
him. . . . Tenderly keep his loved ones. . . . Grant 
mercifully of Thy wisdom and strength to those who take 
care of him. .. . And if it be Thy will, O Lord, may he 
be restored to a life of service for Thee. . . . We come to 
Thee in the name of our Savior. Amen.” 

At occasions of thanksgiving some such prayer as this 
might be followed audibly after the leader: ‘“ Our kind 
and loving Redeemer. . . . Thou hast brought gladness 
into the home of Ethel Murray. . . . For which we give 
Thee thanks. . . . We rejoice with them and pray Thee 
still to bless them. . . . Help every one of us, O Lord, to 
express our thankfulness through our lives. . . . In Jesus 
Christ. Amen.” 

In providing suggestions of this kind, we are greatly 
aiding the worshipers to unite in prayer. Most public 
prayers are uttered by a single person and followed by 
nearly none. It is not easy for the best of us to follow in 
the prayer of another ; it is next to impossible for the rest 


CULTURE IN PRAYER 137 


of us. Even the Pastoral Prayer in church in which 
mature people bow down in worship together, is usually 
followed by only a few. For five or six sentences the 
majority may follow; then they go mentally off on a 
tangent. Discovering their failure, they jerk themselves 
back with good purpose, only to find themselves wander- 
ing afar once more. If this be true when grown-ups pray 
together, what of our younger generation, led as they are 
by some one whose aims, affairs and ideas through the 
week have been so completely different from theirs! It is 
true that even by suggesting subjects for worship or by 
inducing them to utter the words after us, we may still 
not be able to secure heartfelt devotions; but we are more 
surely on the way. | 

What can be done in Departments of the Sunday School 
and in Societies, can with equal fruitfulness be carried out 
in groups, in classes and in the home. After some prac- 
tice in the use of a prayer together, certain pupils may be 
asked to offer the same prayer audibly alone, the rest re- 
maining silent. Again, each member of a group can com- 
pose a prayer and use it as the basis of an audible prayer 
for leading others. For this the subject may be suggested 
by the group-leader. Thus may each member gain free- 
dom of self expression, and master the art of leading 
others. 


VII. Verbal Prayers. 


Jesus taught us, “The Lord’s Prayer,” word for word. 
It was a precedent which some ritualistic churches have 
followed to excess; nevertheless, it was ideal in itself as 
an example for us. We need to teach our younger dis- 
ciples verbal prayers. Their supply is distressingly scant. 
“Our Father,” and “ Now I lay me” covers the entire 
prayer-range of most children. At church they unite in 


138 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


the Lord’s Prayer; again at Sunday School and in the 
Young People’s Society, and if theirs is a Christian home, 
they are likely to use it there. —Thus becomes that match- 
less prayer but another of the “ vain repetitions ” against 
which our Master warns. Yet, most children have no 
other prayer to relieve the monotony. 

In many homes, presumably Christian, no thanks are 
expressed at meal times. Most of our children must be 
instructed from the ground up, else they will follow the 
heathenish ways of their fathers. In fact, the ancient 
heathens did pour out libations to their gods before they 
ate. Nota few children of foreign parentage in our coun- 
try are taught prayers; but in a foreign language. They 
must live American lives. Prayers in a foreign tongue 
may serve to separate religion from life; which is the es- 
sence of Pharisaism. It behooves us, therefore, in every 
instance, to teach the younger pupils verbal prayers which 
they shall use at home. 

Some of our Lesson Courses are introducing appropri- 
ate prayers, which should be inculcated for daily use. But 
our children need additions from time to time, which 
leaders must seek to secure from every available source. 
For the teaching of verbal prayers may we offer these 
further suggestions. 

(1) See that the prayer is simple enough to form part 
of the worshiper’s experience. A fitting story, or some- 
times a Biblical picture, may help to assure this. The 
prayer must not be imposed on the young disciple; yet 
should be big and high enough to draw the child onward 
and upward. 

(2) Neither frivolity nor the mechanical may safely be 
tolerated. Use cannot be permitted to those who make 
abuse. As soon as the customary prayer grows stale, 
another should be introduced. Occasionally, for general 


CULTURE IN PRAYER 139 


use, a prayer renews its freshness through being chanted. 

(3) For special occasions special prayers are suitable.~ 
If none can be discovered, or composed by yourself, honor 
your pastor with a request for something of his own 
making. He is likely to give you a happy surprise. 

(4) Permit alteration of words in the personal use of 
verbal prayers, so long as they express the worshiper’s 
thoughts. The more words are their own, the better; for 
we wish them to acquire the art of praying their own 
prayers. But make sure that no meaning is thwarted by 
wrong words. Children are very likely to misunderstand 
our words, and even when they rightfully understand 
them, they easily slur successive words, so that the origi- 
nal meaning is completely lost. For this reason it is safe 
to have the prayers, also, that are used at home, occasion- 
ally recited child by child, and even handed in on paper. 

(5) Make it a custom now and then to repeat a state- 
ment in prayer-form. For instance: should you be speak- 
ing of the unselfishness of Jonathan in his dealings with 
David, the identical words of the teaching might be re- 
peated in the prayer, offered at the close or in the midst 
of a lesson, “O, our Savior, help us to be as unselfish as 
was Jonathan.” In this way our pupils more easily sense 
the fact that prayer belongs to every moment of life; that 
worship is practical. 

(6) Greatly encourage the members of your group to 
lead in devotions. At first their prayers may be the same 
as have been verbally taught. By and by the time is ripe 
for individuals to pray their own words audibly. We do 
well in this training process to consult with other Chris- 
tian leaders in our local church who have the same chil- 
dren under their care. The child that prays in the Junior 
Society may just as well pray in the Sunday School De- 
partment or class. 


140 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


Is there still doubt concerning the teaching of verbal 
prayers? Remember that our Master used this means. 
Consider also that words are necessary to shape and ex- 
press thoughts. It will help our disciples to make their 
holiest aspirations more definite when we provide them 
with suitable expressions. 

It must occur to us that the ways in which Jesus taught 
His disciples to pray were eminently human. Having 
come from the Father there must have been open to Him 
avenues by which we can not approach the throne of God. 
We know that once or twice in His season of prayer He 
underwent a change in face and features. How often this 
took place while Jesus was on earth we do not know; for 
only very rarely did His disciples go with Him to His 
trysting place. But we know that in every reported in- 
stance Jesus used the same channels Godward that are 
open to us. We can follow Him. He is our way to the 
Father ; He is our way of worship. 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER IX 


Introduction: 
The devotional program prepares for living; 
Prayer the greatest thing to be taught; 
Jesus taught His disciples to pray. 

I. Jesus Taught by Example: 
In public and in private; 
The influence was felt. 

II. Jesus the Intercessor: 


On earth and in heaven; 
We to intercede for those we lead. 


III. Jesus Prayed with His Disciples: 
Sympathetically and intimately. 


IV. Jesus Gave His Disciples Reminders: 
He used a story to enforce His teaching; 
We have biographies that show the need of prayer; 
We should help our disciples to observe prayer. 


CULTURE IN PRAYER 141 


V. Jesus Suggested Right Ways of Praying: 
arning against pride; urging humility. 


VI. Jesus Suggested Subjects: 
For physical comforts; 
Against temptation; 
For kingdom extension; 
We may suggest subjects and phrases; 
We may gather suggestions from the worshipers. 


VII. Jesus Taught Prayer Word for Word: 


The disciples had scant supply; 

Our disciples need enrichment in prayer-material; 
We need to be cautious; 

Suit prayers to experience; 

Avoid the mechanical; 

Have special prayers for special occasions; 
Encourage alteration of words in private prayers; 
Make prayer natural as part of a conversation; 


Conclusion—suitable words express true thoughts. 


SUBJECTS FOR Discussion 


. Prayer as an actual help in living. 

Help received from the prayers of others. 

The power of prayer portrayed in literature. 
The meaning of Christ’s intercessory prayers. 
Our intercessory prayers. 

Times for prayer. 

Negative and positive prayers. 

. Prayers that apparently were not answered. 

. The dangers and the helps of verbal prayers. 

. Our silent participation or lack of it when others lead. 
. The use of prayer in the home, in class and group. 


mS OOON ind bot ps 


pd peed 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


Write prayers for “Grace” at table; for morning; for evening; 
for Sunday; for the sick; for the traveler; for the tempted; for 
the thankful,—ranging in ages from childhood to maturity. Se- 
cure audible prayer from one accustomed to it. 


For READING 


Prayers, Ancient and Modern, Mrs. Mary W. Tileston. 
Training the Devotional Life, Weigle-Tweedy, Chs. II and III. 
Children’s Devotions, Gerrit Verkuyl. 

A Girls’ Book of Prayer, Margaret Slattery. 


X 
BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 


MONG all devotional books the Bible stands easily 
A first. Other religions possess their sacred books, 
and by diligent search numerous expressions of 
prayer may be discovered in their pages. But there is an 
incredible amount of chaff in which few grains of wheat 
are contained. Even the choicest gems of other religious 
literature rarely equal and never do surpass the prayers 
recorded in the Old Testament. The prayers of Jesus are 
wholly beyond their range. It is most promising and most 
economical to study the prayers of the Bible. 

There are two ways in which our sacred Scriptures 
may aid us in our devotional leadership. We may note 
the devotional spirit of Bible characters and the language 
in which they expressed themselves, so that their manner 
of worship may teach us; and we may also master the ex- 
pressions themselves verbally, to be among the vehicles 
of our outgoings of the heart toward God. Both ways 
will in their turn be followed in this chapter. 


I, Old Testament Prayers Outside the Psalter. 

(1) The first prayer verbally quoted in the Bible (Gen. 
18: 23-32) is intercessory. Abraham is greatly concerned 
about his nephew Lot, who chose the valley of Sodom and 
was captured and carried away with other dwellers of the 
valley by the Oriental kings; whom Abraham delivered 
from captivity together with the Sodomites, but who fool- 


142 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 143 


ishly returned to the doomed city. For him Abraham in- 
tercedes with God, and for his sake, the people of the 
valley are included in Abraham’s prayer. Striking feat- 
ures are: (a) The prayer forms part of the conversation 
between Abraham and God. They have been visiting to- 
gether under the oak tree, talking as friend with friend. 
In a natural way Abraham learns to look upon his visitor 
as One far above him, yet near him. (0b) Abraham ad- 
dresses his visitor as “The Judge of all the earth,” and 
has confidence in His perfect justice. (c) With this just 
God Abraham pleads for mercy on behalf of Lot. (d) 
Abraham confesses his own unworthiness, but is daring 
in his request, asking more with every granted petition; 
just like a child that gets the finger and insists on taking 
the whole hand. (e) Abraham offers nothing whatever 
in return for the granting of his request; not for deserts 
but for mercies he is looking. 

None but the children of God, ancient or modern, who 
have enjoyed unusual experience and who are practicing 
uncommon faith, are able to pray Abraham’s prayer. It 
marks him “the father of all them that believe.” 

(2) The next recorded prayer comes from the lips of 
Abraham’s servant; probably Eliezer (Gen. 24: 12-14). 
This prayer also is intercessory ; though not completely so. 
Eliezer prays that his journey for the purpose of finding 
a bride for Isaac may be divinely prospered. He ad- 
dresses Jehovah not as his own, but as his master’s God. 
He has learned from Abraham to have absolute confidence 
in the Lord. So deeply has this idea been ingrained in his 
training that he watches for God’s hand in the common 
affairs of life. The efficacy of his prayer is proved by 
the divine answering. 

Jacob’s vow scarcely deserves the name of prayer (Gen. 
28: 20-22). Putting a condition to God, he pledges wor- 


144 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


ship and sacrifice,—the dedication of a tithe. At Peniel 
(Gen. 38:26), the demand for a blessing resembles 
prayer and suggests persistence with God. 

(3) At least two prayers are accorded to Moses, .of 
which the first (Ex. 31:31, 32) is intercessory. Moses 
pleads for his people. He confesses their sins, asks God’s 
forgiveness for Israel, and offers himself as the victim for 
punishment,—a prophecy of the Lamb of God that was 
to come. 

The second prayer ascribed to Moses (Ps. 90) is a 
meditation, like so many of the Psalms. God’s eternal 
faithfulness, and man’s utter weakness and dependence on 
God as the fountain of wisdom, mercy, joy and beauty, 
not for a day but for ever and ever, this double strain 
rings through the well-known prayer of Moses. 

During the centuries that link Moses with David, a few 
ejaculatory prayers have been preserved. Joshua’s appeal 
relative to sun and moon; Samson’s cry for strength to 
avenge himself on the Philistines; and the story of Han- 
nah’s unspoken prayer in the Tabernacle; also Deborah’s 
exultation—these are worthy of perusal. After David, 
more extensive petitions have been preserved. The prayer 
of Solomon with which the glorious Temple was dedi- 
cated (I Kings 8: 33-61), deserves a study by itself. Ex- 
pression of confidence in God’s faithfulness leads to the 
petition for continued blessings upon individual Hebrews 
and on the nation under every conceivable circumstance, 
—if hearts are turned to God. A magnificent bene- 
diction terminates the prayer. The prayer is essentially 
intercessory. 

(4) Another intercessory prayer for Israel comes to us 
from the lips of Nehemiah (ch. 1:1-5). With confidence 
in the faithfulness of God, the leader confesses Israel’s 
sin, pleading the promises of God on the basis of which 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 145 


he asks for help in the day of crisis. The prayer of 
Daniel is very similar (ch. 9:4-19). First he expresses 
absolute confidence in God the Faithful; then he con- 
fesses the treachery and rebellion of his people, so great 
that punishment has been deserved. In face of this he 
pleads that God’s wrath may be turned away and that 
divine mercy and love may be the portion of Israel. 

(5) Worship in the Book of Job presents a different 
phase of religious devotion. It is personal and relates 
chiefly to God’s understanding of each individual where 
man misunderstands him. There is not so much petition 
as declaration and exclamation; but every utterance of 
Job is in the conscious presence of God. Humility (ch. 
7:17); confession of sin (7:20), recognition of Divine 
Omnipotence (12:16-21); absolute confidence (13:15, 
19:25-27); comfort in divine ommniscience (23:10), 
these form the leading features of Job’s devotional ex- 
periences. We are looking into the heart of a man whose 
eating and drinking has customarily been to the glory 
of God. 

Gathering up the principles of devotional expression in 
the Old Testament, outside the Psalms, we have (1) Faith 
in God as the One who is forever faithful; who never goes 
back on His promises. (2) Acknowledgment of human 
weaknesses, backsliding and sin. (3) Plea for the exer- 
cise of divine grace which so far exceeds human worth- 
lessness as God exceeds man. And the motive of divine 
grace is known to be divine love. (4) In almost every 
instance prayer is intercessory. 


II, The Psalms. 
The great thesaurus of prayer is our Psalter. Consid- 
ering the many forms in which prayer may find expres- 
sion,—in praise, thanksgiving, adoration, conversation, 


146 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


petition, promise and reminders, the entire Book of Psalms | 
consists of prayers. It is possible to select for our help 
only a few outstanding prayers from the Psalter. 

(1) The Forty-second Psalm comes to us from a soul 
in trouble. It has the individual note; but representative 
of others in similar circumstances. Disappointments have 
been the worshiper’s portion; he has looked for blessings 
from above that, apparently, have not come. Enemies, 
who are also enemies of God, have noticed his distress and 
are twitting him about it. But though sorrow is the chief 
burden of the prayer, the conclusion is a shout of confi- 
dence and praise in God. 

(2) The Fifty-first Psalm is usually known as “ The 
Penitential Psalm.”’ David has brutally sinned and knows 
it. His heart is aching and breaking; he is contrite and 
begs for mercy. He promises personal service to bring in 
others to salvation. The Psalm concludes with a shout of 
joy. But whether in joy or in sorrow, the worshiper finds 
himself ever in the immediate presence of God. 

(3) A third personal prayer is the One Hundred and 
Sixteenth Psalm. It is a prayer of testimony to God’s 
goodness, and the worshiper’s responsive love. Nothing is 
asked of God; but much is promised Him; because out of 
a grateful heart the words of thanksgiving flow. It is the 
Old Testament version of Rom. 12:1. The One Hundred 
and Thirty-ninth Psalm is so much akin to it that we may 
mention it in the same paragraph. God’s presence could 
scarcely be told more clearly, Paul’s testimony, “In him 
we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17: 28), and 
the assurance of Jesus, “ Lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world,” are germinally contained in the 
declarations of this Psalm, the thought of which, if not the 
words, should be mastered by every Jew and Christian. 

(4) But the greatest prayer of the Old Testament, as 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 147 


it appeals to us, is Psalm Sixty-seven. Except for a lack 
of the Father idea of God, which Jesus gives us in “ The 
Lord’s Prayer,” this Psalm is the equivalent of the one 
prayer taught us by Jesus. The construction differs, but 
the ideas are identical. Perhaps it is significant that the 
prayer opens with a petition for forgiveness. . Jesus does 
not teach us to start out with that; though theologically it 
ought to come first in every prayer. “ God, be merciful 
unto us,” forms the opening cry. A guilty soul is bowing 
before high heaven. Sins must be forgiven; debts must be 
cleared away. The worshiper has nothing to offer ; he can 
only plead mercy. But mercy will not suffice; it is too 
negative. “ And bless us,” adds the supplicant. It seems 
a daring plea; as when a convict secures pardon; then im- 
mediately asks for help to start out successfully. But this 
is precisely the spirit of divine forgiveness. Even this is 
not enough, however. “ And cause his face to shine upon 
us” is the third petition, all in one breath with the first 
two. This means nothing less than divine approval. The 
convict wants his judge to show pleasure in him. Of 
course, this intimates that the convict is doing his best to 
please the judge. 

But what is this all for? “ ‘That thy way may be known 
upon earth; thy salvation among all nations.” The wor- 
shiper does not stop with himself; he is concerned about 
others. His prayer grows intercessory. Strange to ob- 
serve in Old Testament days, this Hebrew has a mission- 
ary spirit. He wants God’s kingdom to come and His will 
to be done beyond the bounds of Palestine. And he wants 
everybody, the native and the stranger, to join with him in 
the song of thanksgiving. ‘‘ Let the people praise thee, O 
God! Let all the people praise thee.” 

The remainder of the prayer is chiefly a reiteration of 
the opening sentences. Almost everything that could in 


148 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


germ be expressed had been put in the first few phrases. 
Just as in the prayer which Jesus taught us there is a 
place for the wants of the body, so in this Psalm the need 
of the earth’s yielding of her increase is remembered be- 
fore God. No longer is God’s favor looked for, however, 
as an act of mercy merely; but as a measure of His fair- 
ness to His creatures,—His righteousness. “ ‘Thou shalt 
judge the people righteously and govern the nations 
upon earth.” 

Lacking the leaning on a Father there is necessarily 
missing also the request which Jesus puts on the lips of 
His disciples, to be kept out of temptation. Even so this 
prayer remains essentially expressive of the religious need 
and experience of all Christians of all times. 


III. Two Prayers of Jesus. 


(1) Supreme among all prayers for our use stands 
“The Lord’s Prayer.” Whether Jesus intended it for 
daily use; or whether He taught every word of it as we 
now customarily use it, is of minor importance. Our 
Master gave it as a standard prayer. Its form and spirit 
are our guide in learning how to pray. Even a brief study 
of it should aid us in our devotional leadership. 

The two words “ Our Father” serve a two-fold identi- 
fication on the part of the worshiper,—with God and with 
his fellow-worshipers. God was either unknown to peo- 
ples outside Israel; or was regarded a terrible being. 
Even to the Hebrews God was deemed far-off. Abraham 
was their father; Jehovah was their monarch. A father 
is our closest kin. His traits are ours; his goods will be 
our inheritance; we belong to him and he belongs to us. 
As children to a father we Christians come to God, led by 
the hand of Jesus. And we come together; for we are of 
one family. Our prayer must needs be intercessory be- 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 149 


cause others are coming with us to the same Throne 
of Grace. 

But though God is our Father we are far from being 
equal with Him. He is our heavenly Father. “In hea- 
ven ” does not denote place, but quality. Our Father is 
not far above us locally ; but in the holiness of, His nature. 
It is as if Jesus were following His assurance of the 
Fatherhood of God immediately with the challenge, “ Be 
ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in 
heaven is perfect.” He sets the ideal before us in the 
Person of our heavenly Father. 

These words of address naturally lead to the worship- 
er’s adoration, “ Hallowed be thy name.” Without rev- 
erence we cannot get in touch with God. Our knocking 
at the gates of heaven is in vain, unless we hallow the 
name of God. Answer to our prayer could bring us no 
blessing were a sense of God’s holiness lacking in our 
hearts. We must worship the Lord in the beauty of 
holiness. 

Then follows the first petition, not for self but for the 
supreme government of God. Jesus never forgets that 
God is first; that we must cherish Him and His before all 
others ; that we must “ seek first the Kingdom of God and 
His righteousness.” “Thy Kingdom come.” And ex- 
pressing this prayer, the supplicant marks himself as a 
citizen of God’s Kingdom. We might denote this petition 
a:sign of his naturalization. With this petition, and an 
inseparable part of it, is its twin desire, “ Thy will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven.” It involves the merging of the 
petitioner’s will in the will of God. While it broadly in- 
cludes the whole circumference of humankind, it also 
narrows itself to him who prays. If the words are sin- 
cerely uttered, they stand for consecration. 

God is first and man is a little lower. His body is 


/ 


\ 


150 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


mortal; but while it clothes his soul it needs daily care; 
for body should serve spirit well. The first real request is 
a frank confession of dependence upon God and an equally 
frank expression of desire to fare well physically. No 
promise on our part accompanies the request; but it is 
based on the previous words of naturalization and conse- 
cration. We are His and we confidently look for God’s 
taking care of His own. “Give us this day our daily 
bread’”’ is the genuine prayer of rich and poor, and it 
affiliates the rich with the poor in the matter of providing 
daily sustenance. 

Confession of need of divine help in matters physical 
leads to confession of a great spiritual need which is two- 
fold—forgiveness of sins already committed, and a plea 
for divine aid against threatening danger. The prayer for 
forgiveness carries a promise with it. No forgiving ap- 
pears possible on God’s part without corresponding for- 
giving on man’s part. Hence the double phrase, “ Forgive 
us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” It is an evidence 
of Jesus’ confidence in the infinite patience of God to 
whom every day the same sinning child may come asking 
to be forgiven; and also in the inexorable strictness of 
God who will grant no pardon to him who will not pardon 
his neighbor. It would also appear that Jesus’ confidence 
in human nature is not pronounced. He sees that the peti- 
tion for forgiveness will be daily necessary, and with it 
the condition of forgiveness to others without which man 
might fail to pardon his neighbor even when pardoned 
of God. 

The plea for being kept out of temptation is not natural 
for us. Our natural prayer would be, “ Stand by us in 
temptation.” Jesus puts it a different way because He 
knows what temptation means. He has been there. He 
sympathizes with the feelings of our infirmities. He 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 151 


knows that human nature as at present constituted is not 
temptation-proof. Should temptation come, and come 
again and again, who could hold out? Temptation to do 
evil strengthens no soul; it is like the battering on a wall; 
it weakens. Keep away from it. “Ask God to keep you 
out of it,” says Jesus. 

In one of the Gospels the prayer concludes with praise. 
It would be natural so to conclude a Hebrew prayer; it is 
more natural so to conclude a Christian prayer. 

Gathering up the leading factors in this great prayer, we 
have, Identification ; Idealization; Adoration; Naturaliza- 
tion and Consecration in the. opening portion, in which 
God is put first. In the personal petition, which forms the 
second part, we have a confession of weakness, physical 
and spiritual, with a plea for daily nurture; for forgive- 
ness of sins, and for guidance to keep out of sinful ways. 
The conclusion is a song of praise. To put it in different 
form we have the principles of oneness, reverence, trust, 
dependence and gratitude. ‘These are the leading princi- 
ples of every prayer. The emphases may differ; but es- 
sentially the elements are always present. It makes “The 
Lord’s Prayer” our surest guide, our truest standard in 
the art of praying. 

(2) But there is one prayer still greater than the prayer 
which Jesus taught His disciples. It is the prayer He 
prayed in the Upper Room in the presence of His dis- 
ciples, just before entering the Garden. It is found in the 
seventeenth chapter of John, and is called “The High- 
Priestly Prayer.” Jesus did not teach us that prayer. 
Perhaps we shall never in this life master the spirit of it 
for ourselves. The holy Son of God gave us an insight 
into His own soul and a promise of what we yet shall be 
when we shall awake in His likeness, when He lifted up 
His face and heart to God and prayed that divine prayer. 


152 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


He started it while talking with His disciples. ‘There was 
no break ; He simply continued speaking. But His eyes no 
longer rested on the disciples; He saw His Father. It is 
the prayer of our unity with God and of God with men; 
of men with men in God. It is the opening sentence of 
“The Lord’s Prayer” glorified. Jesus sees the whole 
family of the redeemed together at the feet of God, Him- 
self among them. They are His; He sanctified Himself 
for their sakes. And all are God’s. 

The High-Priestly prayer will forever remain our ideal 
prayer; which we shall begin to master in this life and 
toward which we shall continue to approach through the 
eternities. For we shall ever gain in the knowledge of 
God and of Jesus Christ, which is life eternal. 


IV. Suggested Scriptures. 


When experiences come to us similar to those of Bib- 
lical characters and our attitude also is similar to theirs in 
relation to God and the world, then it follows that their 
ways of giving vent to their religious feelings may serve 
us to express our own most loftiest thoughts. In making 
such use of the Bible we may employ the words exactly 
as they were previously uttered, or we may adapt them to 
our peculiar circumstances. Quite frequently we need to 
alter pronouns; or we may change divine warnings into 
prayers. 1. Psalter prayers,—3:5; 8; 19; 23; 24; 25, 
42:1-5; 46; 65; 67; 84; 86: 1-7; 90; 100; 103; 104: 1-4; 
1073. 1-85) 1163) 119'129-135)5 12131233 1a0 ssGa toy 
omitting 19-22 ; 150. 

Thorough acquaintance with these prayers will greatly 
enrich private worship and public leadership of devotions. 

2. Testimonies and exhortations, frequently suitable at 
the time of closing devotions. Matt. 11: 28-30; 16: 24-26; 
Jno. 12:24; 14: 1-6; Acts 4:12; I Cor. 13; 15:58; Rom. 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 153 


12:1-2; 12: 9-21; 8: 38, 39; Phil. 4:8; 4:19; Col. 3:23; 
I Thess. 5: 15-23; II Cor. 3:18. 

3. Missionary promises,—Josh. 1:3; Isa. 41:10; 43:2; 
61:1; Acts 1:8; Matt. 28: 18-20; Isa. 40: 29-31. 

4. Benedictions: Num. 6: 24-26; Deut. 33: part of 25 
and of 27; Ps. 121:7, 8; Heb. 13:20, 21; I Peter 5: 10, 
11; Jude 24, 24. | 

The written prayers that have been used through the 
ages afford many helpful suggestions for modern worship. 
Some of us cannot make verbal use of them, for fear of 
losing our own spontaneity; but all of us will be led by 
their perusal into a fuller sense of God’s nearness. They 
are permeated with Scriptural phrases and breathe a spirit 
of faith and fellowship such as we yearn to have. 


V. The Mastering of Scripture Prayers. 


If it were necessary for us to choose between an acqui- 
sition of the inner spirit of worship and the memorizing 
of Scripture prayers, then our choice would, of course, be 
in favor of the spirit rather than of the letter. But, fortu- 
nately, such a choice is not required. Both may be ours 
for the getting and our hold on the inner spirit of prayer 
may be enhanced by the verbal mastering of its Scriptural 
expression. ‘Those whose prayers have been recorded 
were in intimate touch with God. Their hearts went out 
in deep devotion toward Him. They felt deeply, saw far, 
heard clearly, and willed with a great, pure purpose. 
They were humble before God and they exulted in Him. 
They knew their utter need and they found their unshak- 
able strength in Him. To every experience in their lives 
that made clear their relation to God they gave devotional 
expression. Hence the immense help we receive from 
their utterances for the outgoing of our own hearts 
toward God. 


: 


154 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


For the mastering of these great sayings we suggest: 

(1) The memorizing of Scripture should start early in 
life and should never be discontinued till dotage. It is 
obvious that small children should be given brief and 
simple portions. Juniors are capable of memorizing an 
extraordinary amount. It becomes needful to slacken 
up with young people, but without letting go alto- 
gether. Very few adults can be induced to memorize 
unless they must give a speech or are preparing for an 
examination. 

(2) The meaning of each verse or passage should be 
made plain to the learners. A story that illustrates the 
lesson contained in a passage will prove helpful. Some- 
times it is well to paraphrase the unaccustomed words into 
the language of our day. 

(3) Drilling in the use of prayer is hurtful; it induces 
irreverence. The words to be mastered may be mimeo- 
graphed and taken home by individuals; while during the 
period of worship the Bible prayer about to be learned 
may frequently be read responsively or in concert. Before 
long the printed page can be discarded, if either the leader 
retains it, or has mastered the contents beyond all doubt. 
In a group, what one lacks the other is usually able to 
fill in. 

(4) In making use of prayers that have been verbally 
mastered there should not be the slightest hint at “ repeat- 
ing or reciting a prayer.” Such repetitions are invariably 
“vain.” ‘There is no place for them in our devotions. But 
there is much room for these deeply spiritual utterances 
whereby once human hearts went out toward God; if we 
pray through them; not just repeat them. 

The prayers of the Bible not merely serve to give ex- 
pression to the heart’s holiest feelings; they also reveal to 
us characteristics of God which we had not observed, and 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 155 


ways of grace to which we were still strangers. By read- 
ing over and over these prayers we find ever more wealth 
in them. Even without learning them by memory their 
spirit grips us and helps us to walk in a deeper conscious- 
ness of the wholesome presence of God. 

And what these prayers mean to us personally it is our 
privilege to help them mean to those whom we lead in 
worship. ‘This cannot be accomplished by wishing it so; 
it requires patient, steady, strong, and loving endeavor. 
The art of prayer is attained at the feet of God, and 
nowhere else. The grace of leading others in worship, 
and of training them to lead in their turn others in 
worship, is acquired in the school of Jesus and nowhere 
else. It cannot be purchased except by consecration and 
life-blood. 


It costs to prepare for a helpful meeting. It costs and 
it pays. Nothing is more strenuous and nothing is more 
satisfying. To lead others into the holy place where they 
grow aware of the nearness of the Father; to help their 
whole being to flow out in love to Him, to look expectantly 
to God in Jesus Christ and to join their wills with the will 
of our Divine Redeemer, this is the holiest task given to 
man. Without Him we cannot lead one step; but with 
Him we can go all the way. 


“ Break Thou the Bread of Life, 
Dear Lord, to me, 
As Thou didst break the loaves 
Beside the sea. 


“ Beyond the sacred page 
I seek Thee, Lord! 
My spirit pants for Thee, 
O living Word.” 


156 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER X 


Introduction: 


The Bible the greatest devotional book; 
Its spirit and letter may be mastered. 


I. Old Testament Prayers Outside the Psalter: 


Abraham’s—intercessory, natural, humble, trusting; 

Eliezer’s—intercessory, confident, colored by early train- 
ing; 

Moses’—intercessory, confident, self-surrendering ; 

Solomon’s—intercessory, confident, confessing weakness; 

Nehemiah’s and Daniel’s—intercessory, confessing sin, 
confident; 

Job’s—natural, humble, confessing sin, confident. 


II. The Psalms—Every Psalm a Prayer: 
Ps. 42—personal but representative, burdened, longing, 


trusting ; 

Ps. 51—penitential, consecrating, ending in joy and 
raise; 

Ps. 116 and 139—witnessing, thankful, promising, God 
near ; 


Ps. 67—intercessory, missionary, confessing sin, confident. 


III. Jesus’ Prayers—One for Us, One His Own: 


“The Lord’s Prayer—identifying, hallowing, missionary, 
humble, confessing, trusting, praising. 

The High-Priestly Prayer: 
Divine longing for divine-human oneness; 
An ideal prayer for time and eternity. 


IV. Suggested Scriptures. 


V. Mastering Bible Prayers: 


Start early and keep on; 
Secure the meaning of them; 
Avoid drili; don’t “say,” but pray. 


Conclusion—Bible prayers acquaint us with God. 


SUBJECTS FoR DiscussION 


1. The recorded prayers are mostly intercessory. Give reasons. 

2. How do humility and confidence fit together; how confession 
and petition? 

3. In what sense are all psalms prayers? 

4. How can a prayer be personal and representative? 

5. Why could Jesus Himself never pray “The Lord’s Prayer”? 

6. Discuss freely the temptation petition. 

7. Paraphrase “The Lord’s Prayer.” 


BIBLICAL DEVOTIONS 157 


8. What makes “The High-priestly Prayer” eternal? 
9. Master your favorite prayer from the Bible. 
10. Discuss best ways of memorizing prayers. 


SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 


Study the choicest prayers from non-Biblical sources, comparing 
them with those we love. Make a thorough comparison between 
Psalm 67 and “The Lord’s Prayer.” Find and study the prayers 
of Paul. After a thorough study of Bible prayers can we under- 
stand how a group of missionaries died of starvation? 


For READING 


A Book of Biblical Devotions, John Moffatt. 

The Prayers of the Bible, J. E. McFadyen. 

The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion, Jas. M. Campbell. 
Scripture Memory Work, (graded), Gerrit Verkuyl. 

The Book of Job and The Book of Psalms. 


APPENDIX 


T’ypr oF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE AT BEGINNING OF YEAR 
THEME: “GOD WITH US.” 


R EMINISCEN T hymns, such as, “ There’s a land that 

is fairer than day,” “ There’s not a Friend like the 
lowly Jesus,” “ Jesus, Lover of my soul,” may be played 
on the piano, one running into the other. After these 
tunes have made themselves felt among the worshipers, 
the leader can safely start singing them, in full agreement 
with the pianist, but without song book; for most of those 
present will join in. 

A Call to Worship may be given after the singing, 
usually selected from the Psalms; for instance, “ Blessed 
be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for- 
evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going 
down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” (Ps. 
$13 32373.) 

It is so recently after Christmas that “Joy to the 
world ” should be in the minds of the worshipers, though 
for more than one stanza the song books may need to 
be used. 

Just previous to the prayer, the leader might call atten- 
tion to the inscription on the American dollar, “ In God 
we trust.” <A sort of circle talk is in place, to bring the 
minds and hearts of all present in a worshipful mood, and 
also to learn what needs should be remembered and what 
thanks expressed. The prayer should be simple and brief. 

“A year lies before us, O God, which is unknown to 
us. We have not walked this way before. And we can- 
not safely enter the year without Thy presence. Keep us 
very near Thyself, we pray, and draw us back to Thee 
if we wander. 

“We ask Thee for the light of Thy Word upon our 
pathway, and for many companions who shall make the 
edie with us under Thy leadership. For Jesus’ sake. 

men.” 


158 


APPENDIX 159 


An eight-minute period may be devoted to a Mission 
Story, if the first Sunday of the month is a Mission Sun- 
day. Otherwise the same amount of time might be given 
to the memorizing of Psalm ‘Twenty-Fourth. 

The offering should form part of the worship. Classes 
should take their records of the offering, and send a repre- 
sentative forward with the offering. A consecration hymn 
will serve for the dedication of the offering; or a dedica- 
tory prayer, “ With cheerful hearts, O God, we would 
bring our gifts before Thee; for Thou lovest a cheerful 
giver. Because we want to start the year with Thee, we 
bring this token of allegiance for Thy service, invoking 
“Thy grace upon it. Amen.” 

A Prayer-Song before the Period of Lesson Study, or 
of Testimony, is in place. “ Break Thou the Bread of 
Life,” or “Open mine eyes that I may see,” or “ More 
about Jesus would I know.” 

The closing of this period may be intimated by playing 
on the piano, first softly, then more strongly, ‘‘ Where He 
leads me, I will follow,’ which may be sung before or 
after the announcements. Plans for the next session 
should be discussed; perhaps a group appointed to help 
conduct those devotions. 

“ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,” is a good 
closing hymn. All remain seated. “ The Lord shall pre- 
serve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time 
forth and even for evermore,” (Ps. 121:8). During 
about ten seconds of quiet, prayer may be suggested for 
divine guidance. The tune, “ Guide me, O, Thou great 
Jehovah,” may be played in token of dismissal. 


A DEVOTIONAL SERVICE IN SPRING-TIME 
THEME: “GOD IN NATURE.” 


THE musical prelude overtures into the tune, “ We 
plow the fields and scatter,” which will be sung after 
it has been played through. In case it was unfamiliar, the 
leader or Program Committee should arrange for its 
mastery during previous periods. 
Platform lesson in the geography of Galilee, with em- 
phasis on its flora, 


160 DEVOTIONAL LEADERSHIP 


- Scripture reading, responsively between one group and 
the remainder, Ps. 104: 1-14. ‘That verse in the passage 
which is asked for first may be silently reviewed by all; 
then audibly repeated from memory by one after another. 

Hymn: “ Sowing in the morning.” 

Prayer, silently by all, for divine blessing on the toilers 
of the soil. Then, by the leader: “ Maker of heaven and 
earth, the signs of Spring-time are about us and we are 
glad. Thou givest to the birds their songs, and to the 
water-brooks their joyful voices; Thou makest the out- 
goings of the morning and of the evening to rejoice. 

“Give to the soil fertility, we pray Thee, our Father, 
and to the seeds the power of newborn life. May pastures 
be checkered with flocks and may soon the fields be waving 
with grain. And in the day of prosperity, O God, grant 
us grace, so that none of us may forget Thee; or in the 
time of trouble may we not murmur against Thee. Then 
shall the season of Spring issue into a happy summer and 
summer lead on to a golden harvest. For Thy mercy’s 
sake. Amen.” 

As the offering is brought forward, the Prayer-Song is 
first played softly, then voiced by all, “ Were the whole 
realm of nature mine.” 

Study or Testimony Period. 

Leader’s Call to closing: “Seek ye not what ye shall 
eat, or what ye shall drink, said Jesus, neither be ye of a 
doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the 
world seek after. And your Father knows that ye have 
need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of 
God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” 
(Luke 12: 29-31.) 

Hymn: “ Fairest Lord Jesus.” 

Messages from officers. 

Benediction, all seated: “ As the rain comes down and 
the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters 
the earth and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may 
give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my 
Word be.” (Isa. 55:10, 11.) 

Silent prayer for divine keeping. Chord for dismissal. 


THE END. 





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